


The Evil Within: Nightmare

by Assassin_Charmaine



Category: Assassin's Creed, The Evil Within (Video Game), Zero | Project Zero | Fatal Frame Series, inFAMOUS: Second Son
Genre: Multi, OCs and game characters death - Freeform, Plot Twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-03-06 11:20:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 48,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3132569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assassin_Charmaine/pseuds/Assassin_Charmaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A month had passed after the Beacon Incident, Sebastian developed the same abilities like Ruvik & Leslie; to be able to see the other side, read, move & manipulated people's mind; reality. Now he has become a target for a mysterious doctor who was out to get him. An unbreakable friendship between a Conduit & a detective. Tragedy awaits for these group of friends as they fight for survival. Sebastian/Delsin/Ezio/Francis(OC)/Other games crossover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Train

**Author's Note:**

> This is first time writing fic; I need to let you all know that I'm not a very good writer since my grammar and vocabulary isn't very strong plus update might be slow due to my work. However I hope you all will enjoy this fic. I kinda like Delsin and Sebastian pairing so I thought of writing a story about them. Delsin's big bro is a police while Seb's a detective. Perfect match.

A month had passed since the Beacon Asylum incident, everything went back to normal. Everyone had gone back to their normal lives, works etc. putting that terrible memories behind them. All except Sebastian. Ever since he was hospitalized for 2 weeks, he had been bothered by the polices, doctors and the media for 24/7 as he was being questioned and surveillance like some sort of a criminal or mental patient until he got extremely fed up. Unable to bear with this stress, he secretly discharged himself from the hospital and ran back home.

The next day, he got a morning call from the hospital, informing him that they were going to fetch him back for check-up. And Sebastian, without even thinking twice, left. Evading them once again. But they were persistent and kept coming back for him.

In the end, he decided to head for a place where no one would find him and leave him in peace.

*************

He waited patiently at the train station, bound for a countryside destination. He had an uncle living there, in a quiet farmhouse.

2 days ago, he explained to his uncle, William, about his current situation through a phone. His uncle then suggested that Sebastian should come over and live with him till things calm down.

Sebastian, while waiting for the train, helped himself a newspaper from a stand and reads quietly. Just then a toy ball rolled over to his leg. He looked and saw a boy about 6-7 years old running towards him. He instinctively picked up the toy and passed it back to the child, smiling in return.

"Thank you," the child gave his thanks and ran off. As Sebastian glimpsed the back of the child's head, he immediately covered his mouth in shock. The head was partially blown off and the brain was somewhat exposed. From the wound, he could tell from the wound it was from a gunshot at point-blank. The next thing he knew, the ghost child faded away before his eyes.

Sebastian rubbed his eyes.

(Not again….) he thought to himself. Ever since that dreadful incident and his escape from Ruvik's clutches, he suddenly developed new abilities. The ability to see things that can't be seen by others and being able to communicate with them. Even more worrisome to Sebastian was the fact he sometimes seemed to be able to move things with his mind back at the hospital that scared some of the nurses.

He wasn't sure if Ruvik cursed him with it or transferred part of powers to him before disappearing. Nevertheless, he was glad that apparition was gone for good. But because of these abilities he had in his present state, the doctors got so interested in him that they kept pestering him to do experiments here and there.

"Can you move this? Can you move that?" those were the same phrases that they asked him over and over again. Even his colleagues back in Krimson Police Department feared him.

Every time when he asked them something politely, they either gave him excuses or walked off in hurried steps while looking back at him and whispering among themselves.

During lunch, none of them dared to sit near or share a table with him. Sebastian knew clearly they were all avoiding him due to his so-called newly developed gift. During most of the break times he simply headed to the nearby park. He ate his lunch while sitting in the shade of a large tree. As children fed the ducks and sunlight suffused in the water, Sebastian pondered the origin of his strange new gift. Sometimes he didn't think at all, or retraced his mind to musings of his former family. Most of all, he preferred to be stared at by hundreds of pigeons to catching that over-the-shoulder look by his colleagues.

He hated that. He never asked for this. He quietly took out his wallet and looked at a small photo. In it was him and his two partners, Juli and Joseph. It was taken a month back before the Beacon incident. Sebastian looked at the photo and remembered that very day; it was an evening after work. It was as if he was back at that moment, with the sounds of rollercoasters, children's laughter and the scent of popcorns and cotton candy in the air. Joseph and Juli both dragged him along to the amusement park to cheer him up. They went to a Horror House and the end result was both Sebastian and Joseph came running out while Juli laughed at them.

He chuckled a bit. But the very things he missed the most was his long-time partner, Joseph, his only friend and the one who understood him. Sadly he was unfortunate; he never made it out alive with him. Sebastian was the only lone survivor.

If it wasn't for Kidman, Joseph will still be alive. He remembered Juli shot his best friend right in front of him during the crossfire. She tried to kill Leslie but ended up killing Joseph instead when he tried to stop her.

Now he knew Kidman was working for an organization who called themselves Mobius and she vanished into the thin air just like Leslie. Sebastian recalled seeing the albino boy leaving Beacon Mental Hospital before that annoying headache occurred. When he recovered, Leslie was gone. He didn't know if it was just his hallucination or Ruvik himself.

He didn't know since everything he cherished and the clues he found faded into memory and records.

Now Joseph no longer by his side, he was all alone. However if he ever found Kidman, he will make sure she'll paid the price for what she did regardless she was once part of the team.

"You're just like me. Forever alone. All by yourself," Ruvik's voice echoed in his mind.

"No, I'm not like you," Sebastian mumbled as he placed his hand on his head. "I'm…different."

Sebastian stared out to the scenic view outside the compartment car. It's going to be a long ride, approximately a day. He watched others like friends and families walking past the compartment he's in.

After half an hour, the rest of the compartments were filled with people except his. He was entirely alone in his own reserved seat and didn't seems to be bothered by it anyway. Instead he was glad as he had the entire compartment all for himself.

Soon the train left for its destination. Since it was going to be a long ride from the city to the countryside, Sebastian decided to take a good rest.

He buttoned his trench coat. Using his backpack as pillow, Sebastian laid down on the comfy seat and dozed off.

He woke up and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He looked outside and saw it was already nightfall. Stretching his arms, Sebastian suddenly longed for a cup of hot coffee. He got up and left his compartment, he headed straight for the café car.

As he walked down the corridor, he began to notice something was amiss. The lights were dim, flickering a little and awfully quiet. No sound or anything. Sebastian started to feel a bit uneasy as he found himself walking slowly and cautiously step by step.

(Maybe the passengers are asleep…) he tried to convince himself.

He stopped on his track and stared towards the corridor. He somehow got a queasy feeling that the corridor seems to be summoning him to an unknown awaiting darkness. He wasn't sure if he should forget about his hot drink, headed back to the compartment and stayed there till his destination.

However he chose to proceed forward. As he walked past compartment by compartment, he realized all were strangely empty.

(Where did everybody go? I can't possibly overslept…) he quickly checked his watch to see it was only 9pm.

"It's still early," he glanced out of the train window and could see the street lamps at the distance as the train passes. When he slid opened the door to the café car, it was empty. Not a single person at all. He then went ahead to check on the washroom, it was empty too.

Feeling something wasn't right at all, Sebastian persisted on investigating. He ran to check on the coach, parlor, lounge, dining and lastly the observation car but to no avail. The entire train was completely deserted. Sebastian was the only person left.

"What's going on?" he looked around. He felt dread welling up in his chest as he hold himself tightly to calm down. It was the very same feeling he had when he was captive at 'that' place.

"This is must be a dream," he closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to wake himself up from this nightmare or hallucination. He slowly opened them to see things still remained unchanged. With no option left, he instinctively checked on the train blueprint map.

Only the power car was left unchecked. He decided to head straight for it as fast as he could. Praying and hoping that someone would be there since the train was still moving on the track.

"Someone be there, please!" he opened the door and went in. To his relief, he saw a man sitting at the corner shrouded in the shadows.

(Thank god!) Sebastian quickly paced to the stranger's side. As he got closer, Sebastian noticed he was wearing a brim hat, a black trench coat and holding a walking stick.

"Excuse me?" he stood beside him. The stranger slowly looked up to him. From his face, Sebastian could tell he's in his 60s or maybe older.

"Umm," Sebastian tried to speak. "Are you alone here? Do you know where everybody has gone?"

The stranger just smiled. "You're finally here. I was waiting."

"Excuse me?"

"I was waiting for you," he repeated again.

Sebastian looked confused.

"Do…do…I know you?" he asked.

"No you don't," the stranger got up from his seat. He was unusually tall and towering over Sebastian that the detective had to look up at him. He felt small in his presence.

"The name's Guillermo, Doctor Guillermo. A pleasure to meet you, Sebastian Castellanos."

Sebastian immediately backed a few steps away from him. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Why the newspapers of course. You're the lone survivor of the Beacon Incident and you had become quite the centre of attention for the doctors, media alike. Sebastian Castellanos, aged 38, developed psychic medium abilities after the incident. Interesting."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" He was still somewhat reluctant to acknowledge the 'gift' he now possessed.

"Still refuse to accept what you're now?" Guillermo sighed. "Such a gift given to you and yet you shunned it."

Sebastian stayed quiet as he continued to keep an eye cautiously at the strange doctor.

"You're becoming like him," he observed him. "You know who I'm referring to."

"Where are the passengers?" Sebastian diverted the topic. "What did you do to them?"

Guillermo put his hands behind his back and licked his lips. "They were quite an exquisite delicacies."

Immediately knew what he meant, Sebastian covered his mouth in disgust. "You….ate…them?"

The doctor just grinned evilly.

Sebastian gritted his teeth, quickly turned and ran out of the power car.

"You both are the same. There's no mistake," Guillermo shouted.

Sebastian, not wanting to hear this anymore, quickly covered both his ears and ran as fast as he could. Guillermo just kept his calm as he tapped his walking stick and went after him.

"Let's play cat and mouse, shall we?"

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. The Encounter

He looked over his shoulder as he ran from car to car. Strangely no matter how fast he was, he can't seem to shake off his pursuer.  
Running back and hiding in his own compartment was definitely out of option. What's more the train doesn't have much hiding places. While pondering where he should headed next, he found himself stumbled upon the baggage car entrance.

Without thinking twice, he hastily looked around to see if the doctor was nearby. Surprisingly he was nowhere at sight. Taking this chance, Sebastian went in. He scanned around the car for a hiding spot and noticed a few boxes right stacked at a corner. He checked and was relieved that they were just about the right size for an adult to fit in.

He opened the lid and climbed inside. He carefully closed it back in position and sat there. He then noticed a tiny gap at the center of the box he's in and decided to peek through to keep a lookout.

Moments later Sebastian heard the tapping sound of the walking stick, followed by footsteps at a distance. He felt his heart beating fast.

Soon the sounds halted right at the baggage car door and slowly the entrance slid opened. Sebastian could clearly see the doctor's large shadow, casted by the flickering light, loomed over the baggage car interior.

Through the gap, he saw Guillermo walking in. The enormous old man proceeded to the pile of baggage and began his search, shifting them here and there with his stick.

Sebastian watched him from his hiding spot. Guillermo, seeing that his target was not in the midst, turned his attention to the boxes. Sebastian quickly recoiled as he drew near, and covered his mouth to muffle his breathing. The doctor grinned momentarily, adjusted his brim hat and toyed with his walking stick.

"Where are you?" he called out. "Come on out wherever you are."

Sebastian heard one of the box lid open, not far from his.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he opened another. "I just want you to do something for me."

Sebastian, knowing that he's no longer safe. He kicked opened the box and crawled out.

"There you are," Guillermo's black-gloved hand tried to grab him but he managed to duck as he dashed straight for the exit. He was about to reach the door handle when he felt something tugged his left leg hard that he fell. He turned back and saw child-sized porcelain doll, blonde curly hair with a black ribbon and wearing a black Victorian dress, gripping at his leg while Guillermo slowly approached.

"Don't be rough on him, my dear Belle," he said.

"Where are you going?" the doll asked. "Play with me!"

"L…Let go!" Sebastian in frenzy, tried to free himself from the creepy doll's strong grip. "LET GO!"

But the doll won't instead she giggled playfully. In rage, he leaned forth and placed one of his hands on her forehead. He strangely felt a surge of overwhelming power in his mind and released its energy.

Belle suddenly shrieked making Guillermo kind of taken aback. The next thing they knew, she flew across the room and smashed onto the wall causing a hideous dent.

"Belle!" Guillermo cried out as the doll, now had a crack on her face, slumped onto the ground. Sebastian staggered by what he just did, stared at his hand.

"Did I just…" he mumbled.

"Oh my sweet Belle!" the doctor scooped his precious porcelain doll up in his arms. He caressed her face. "Hush don't cry...daddy will fix you up."

Sebastian quickly got back up and ran out without even looking back. Right now, he was focused on getting away from both of them. He ran all the way back to the power car and pulled the emergency brake without giving a damn.

A loud, harsh and squealing braking sound screeched throughout the train and soon it came to an abrupt stop.Sebastian didn't even bother about retrieving his backpack nor where the train had stopped. He just alighted and ran into the woods nearby, for his dear life.

He pushed past the branches and leaves. Twigs scratched his face and tugged at the sleeves of his trench coat. Without any source of light, it was extremely hard for him to see in the dark, and constantly tripping over tree roots. But he kept running even though he heard no one following him.

Soon he found himself out into the opening, illuminated by the moonlight, and saw an empty street right ahead. He climbed over the road railing, doubled over as he gasped for air. His legs were trembling from the running.

Night was still around him. Sebastian checked his watch to see what time it was now. He was astonished to find it was already 12.15pm.  
After he had regained his breath, he walked down the street, trying to figure out where he needed to find a nearby town to get help. He sighed as he recalled that he abandoned his backpack and passport back at the train but thanked lady luck that his wallet and cell phone were kept in his coat pocket.

He took out his cell phone to see if he could call his uncle for aid. Sadly no signal was detected. Hungry as well as cold, he tucked his hands into his coat pockets to keep them warm and continued on his journey.

After 30 minutes of wandering aimlessly, Sebastian felt the exhaustion setting in. His eyes were getting heavy probably due to his frailty condition.

To be honest, he hasn't fully recovered from his fever. Ever since he obtained this 'gift' he had been falling sick frequently. Though he responded well to medication and went back to work, he suffered a relapse later.  
"You will get well soon," that's what his colleagues always say to him. But he knew very well in his heart that they're getting tired of it.

His chief even came to pay him a visit one day and suggested that he should apply for a long term break till he's better. However Sebastian declined his offer, staying at home will only made him frustrated. He wasn't physically weak but rather his illness were caused by the strains of his 'gift'.

And now he stuck at god-knows-where place till he found either a town, motel, petrol station or anything as long he can find help from and get some rest.He doesn't know how long he had been walking. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed a dirty stairway on a concrete slope at the side, leading up to a security fence. On the other side were warehouses. Relieved, he immediately headed for it. Maybe he can find help there.

He climbed up the stairs then over the fence. Due to his fatigue, he lost his balance and fell hard on his back. He groaned in pain as he rolled back onto his stomach. He had barely been able to prop himself up when a powerful hand wrapped about the collar of his trench coat and hauled him upright.

Sebastian was staggered at first. Then he slowly looked behind. He gasped the moment he saw that very familiar face.

"Had enough?" Guillermo greeted him. The creepy doll Belle, which Sebastian attacked earlier, was sitting on the doctor's shoulder. Staring down at Sebastian with her cold, icy emotionless eyes. The crack on her face were completely gone. Sebastian started reacting viciously and tried to jerk himself free from the strong grip but his fatigue prevented him from doing so.

"Why?" Guillermo pulled Sebastian close to him. "Why do you resist?"

"What is it you want with me?" Sebastian looked up to him.

"Didn't I just state back at the train?" Guillermo replied. "I need you to do something for me."

"Which is?" he demanded an answer.

"To relive Beacon, of course."

Sebastian was stunned. "W…What?"

"It's your rightful place," he continued. "It's where you rightfully belong."

"No its not!" Sebastian shook his head. He tried to pull himself free from Guillermo's grip but was forcibly pulled back.

"Ruvik sees the potential in you. You're special."

"This isn't true!"

"Now now…," Guillermo stroked him by the hair to calm him down. Sebastian felt cold shiver running down his spine as the doctor's hand was oddly chilling cold. "You know it very well. Just accept the fact, Sebastian. After all…"He whispered into his ear."…you survive."

Sebastian was speechless that he slowly looked away. Guillermo grinned at him.

"Now come with me."

"I'm not going back!" Sebastian refused to cooperate.

"Too late for that," as he dragged him along. Suddenly a spark of fire was fired onto the concrete ground. Splinter of small concrete scattered by the impact. Alarmed by the sudden attack from nowhere, Guillermo instinctively with one strong arm wrapped around Sebastian's waist, lifted him off ground, holding him hostage.

A dust of smoke merges and materialized into a stranger, his face was concealed by the shadow of his hood, wearing a denim vest with a black sweater inside, pair of denim jean and black sneakers. He had a long chain whip wrapped around his right arm.

Both were surprised by his sudden appearance. Sebastian was wondering who he was; to be so daring to stand up against this doctor.

"Who are you?" Guillermo asked.

However the unknown stranger never spoke a word instead he immediately swung his chain whip towards him. Belle quickly blocked off the attack to protect her master.

The doll with her hands grabbed the chain. Little did they expect, it was actually the stranger's intention; he gripped the other end of the chain whip, unleashed a fire trail towards her.

By the time she realized the incoming danger, it was already too late. She was immediately consumed by the fire. She screamed in agony as she fell, rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames blazing on her.

"Belle!" Guillermo quickly flicked his fingers. Just when he did that motion, the flames consuming the doll vanished but was still badly burnt as she lied face downwards, moaning on the concrete floor.

Seeing that he had successfully diverted the doctor's attention, he materialized once again into a gust of smoke, swept towards them then engulfed itself on Guillermo, choking him.

Guillermo, with one hand brushed desperately at the smoke, trying to disperse it. It was so thick that it even clouded his vision, he didn't notice that his hold on his hostage loosened. The smoke then took this opportunity and engulfed Sebastian next.

Sebastian thought he was going to choke but strangely he didn't at all. Instead he felt a sense of warmth as if it was welcoming him. The next thing he knew the smoke materialized back into the hooded stranger and snatched him away from Guillermo's hold.

Alarmed by this sudden action, Guillermo tried to retrieve Sebastian back but the hooded stranger while holding the detective in a protective stance, shot a few flame sparks directly onto his eyes, blinding him again.

"ARGH!" he shouted in pain.

Carrying Sebastian in his arms, he flew into one of the warehouses. Once they're safe, the hooded stranger gently placed him down on the ground, got up and checked around the corner to see if the doctor was still on their trail.

Sensing that they're safe for the time being, he returned to Sebastian's side. He then removed his hood to reveal his face. A young man probably around in his mid-twenties, looking down at him while the older man looked up at him.

"You ok?" he asked.

Sebastian didn't respond instead he moved away from him, terrified.

The young man immediately knew he had somehow unintentionally freaked him out.

"I'm really sorry about what happened back there," he quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to frighten you but it's the only way to get you away from that creep." He moved forth but Sebastian moved away from him again.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he tried to convince him, "I just want to help that's all. You're safe now."

Sebastian somehow sensed honesty and trust in the young man's words.

"Y…you're not one of them are you?" he asked.

"Pardon?" the stranger can't seem to understand what he was talking about.

"You aren't one of those who tries to use me for their purposes?" Sebastian asked again.

"I really don't get what you meant," the young man give him a confused look. "What purposes? What are you talking about?"

(Looks like he isn't) Sebastian thought to himself. "Nothing. Never mind."

"Anyway," the young man offered a helping hand. "I'm Delsin Rowe. What's yours?"

Sebastian looked at him before reaching out for his hand. "Sebastian…Sebastian Castellanos."

"It's best we don't stay here Sebastian," he helped him up. "There's a small town not far from here. We will be safe there besides that doctor…" There was a short pause. "He doesn't seems human."

(He isn't human to start with…) Then he gave Delsin a quick glance.

"Are you hu…?"

"Is he trying to kidnap you if you don't mind me asking?" Delsin cut in.

Sebastian looked at him then nodded his head. "Yeah…I met him on the train. I manage to escape but I didn't expect he is able to catch up."

"Ok…," Delsin said. "We might have to report this to the police."

"It's useless," Sebastian replied. "I doubt they will believe us."

"What makes you say that?"

"Didn't you just saw what he did back there?"

"Erm…he controlled that doll."

"Do you think the cops will believe our story if we tell them that?"

There was a short silence.

"Anyway let's just get out of here…" Delsin placed Sebastian's arm over his shoulder and supported him as they exited the warehouse.

 

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. An Understanding

Chapter 3: An Understanding

They reached the exit and a tall gate stood before them.

"Wait here," Delsin athletically climbed over it, unlocked it on the other side and opened for Sebastian to get through.

"Hurry!"

Sebastian quickly did what he was told as Delsin bolted the gate back in place.

"I know a shortcut through the woods," he gestured him to follow. "Come on!"

Sebastian doesn't know if he should follow obediently. He barely knows this young fellow yet for some unknown reason, he already gave him a sense of security.

"What's wrong?" Delsin was looking at him with concern. "If we don't hurry, he will catch up with us."

Sebastian gazed back at the warehouses behind them before turning back to Delsin, "Yeah…let's go."

Delsin then fished out a small pocket flashlight from his vest pocket as they drew closer to the wood. "Can't venture without a light…stay close. It’s easy to get lost in these woods."

Sebastian stared at the woods in front of them. He felt extremely uneasy when he sees the trees and its branches engulfed in darkness by the night. Like as if they will come to life sooner or later to lunge on him.

Since it’s the only route to the town, he had no choice but to brace through. Luckily he had someone to accompany him. But this person who called himself Delsin Rowe; is he human? 

Both paced through the woods with Delsin as the guide. He knows the way well and soon they reached a clear river. Sebastian could see the reflection of the moon and stars on the surface and it was such a beautiful sight that he was mesmerised by it. Sadly he couldn't stay long to admire these nature beauty.

He followed him down the river path until they reached a steep rocky slope.

"You might need to thread carefully from this point," As Delsin climbed his way down. Sebastian was astonished by how he moved, climbed and leaped. In just seconds, the young lad was already at the bottom of the steep slope, waving at him.

"Your turn," he called out.

"If only I'm younger…." Sebastian mumbled. He slowly and cautiously steadied his footing on a rock to test out whether it can support his weight before proceeding. He was about halfway down, when he suddenly lost his balance and slipped.

"SEBASTIAN!" he could hear Delsin calling out his name.

He shut his eyes tight and shielded his face with his hands, ready to embrace whatever pain and injuries he's going to get however nothing happened.

He slowly opened his eyes just to see Delsin looking down at him. He found himself in Delsin’s arms again. Feeling something's not right, Sebastian looked down and was astounded to find they were already on the ground.

"What just happened…?" He was utterly confused. He looked up to the rock slope, back to the ground then to Delsin. He swore he was felling seconds ago and now he's here, unscathed.

"What the hell is going on here?" Sebastian yelled, unable to keep it to himself anymore. "First was that doctor and his doll trying to abduct me, then you came along in that smoke form and now this!"

Delsin tried to explain but Sebastian already began wrenching himself free. The young man lost his grip on the detective that both fell onto the ground with a soft thud. Delsin then tries to help him up however Sebastian shoved him as he quickly backed away from him towards the trees.

"I always wanted to ask you back at the warehouse," Sebastian asked, without even taking his sight off him. "Are you a human?"

"I am," Delsin answered his question. "Just different in a way."

"Different? What do you mean?"

Delsin closed his eyes before letting out a sigh. "I’m not supposed to tell this but…I...I'm actually a Conduit."

"Conduit?" another question raised.

"Humans born with special powers…" he scratched his head. “How do I explain this? It's something like…you know like X-men."

Delsin doubled over. (He’s so going to kill me if he finds out about this…)

Sebastian gave him a suspicion stare in return while Delsin was unsure whether to continue his explanation.

"Look…" he raised both his hands. “I’m really sorry if I scared the hell out of you but I really mean no harm. I just want to help. Please trust me." Then again he gave an apologetic look, "I'm sorry but it’s the only way I can saved you from him.”

Upon hearing this, Sebastian felt extremely bad. After all Delsin did saved his life back at the warehouses and again from the rocky steep slope yet all he ever did in return was yelling at him instead of thanks.

He slowly walked back towards Delsin. “I should be the one apologising. I mean…you saved me twice yet I…." he looked at him. "Thank you."

Delsin, felt rather surprised and smiled in return. "It's ok but I'm glad you decided to trust me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, mostly those whom I tried to help ended up shunning me away. Or worst fired their guns at me,” he admitted causally.

"Oh my…" Sebastian was kind of taken back by his comments.

"Well now you know I'm a Conduit and a good one too," Delsin placed both hands on his waist. "I'm sure we both can come to an understanding. But can you promise me to keep it as a secret?”

"You can trust me as how I trust you now," Sebastian smiled back. As they both looked at each other, Sebastian had this sense of familiarity; that they met before and knew each other for quite a while.

"Let's go shall we? Delsin said.

Sebastian nodded.

Both made their way to the nearby town.

 

END OF CHAPTER 3

 


	4. The Night

They reached town and the first thing they went straight for was the phone booth. Sebastian dialled his uncle’s number and waited for response. Strangely the line couldn’t get through no matter how many times he tried. All he got was beeping sounds all the way…

“Well?” Delsin stood next to him.

“Unreachable,” Sebastian hung up the phone before he took out his cell phone again. “My phone signal still dead. Can I borrow yours?”

Delsin took out his, checked then he shook his head. “Mine’s dead too.” “Shit…” he cursed silently under his breath. He scanned around town. It was what Delsin said; a small town with small population.

There was a convenience store right next to the police station. Housing apartments, restaurants etc. Further down, he could see a big neon sign saying ‘MOTEL’. 

“Is there anyone you know will let me borrow the phone?” Delsin walked ahead of him and pointed to the 24/7 convenience store.

“The store owner working there is my friend. She can help.” 

They passed by the police station and Sebastian stopped in his track to take a peek inside. There were about two to three policemen at the reception area, busy doing paper works. Others pacing back and forth in a scurry manner.

At the corner of his eyes, he spotted some technicians fixing up some cable lines at a junction box. 

(They seem busy.) He thought to himself.  

He later recalled Delsin previously suggested they should report this happenings to them but he declined the idea of doing so. Going to the station to elaborate about it wasn’t a good idea; he didn’t want to give himself an expression of a madman to the locals during his first visit. 

They stepped in the store just to see a plump short lady in her 50s, feeding her pet white parrot at the counter. She smiled broadly the moment she saw Delsin waving at her. 

“Hey Rose.”  

“My…my…Delsin,” she got up. “Staying out late in the night doing your graffiti again?”

He just gave a silly look, indirectly telling her that she made the right guess.  

“Rose, I want you to meet Sebastian Castellanos, a friend of mine.” He introduced him to her. 

“Nice to meet you, Sebastian,” both exchanged handshake. 

“You sure are a good looking fella,” she joked. Sebastian blushed a little on that small compliment of hers. 

“You’re a tourist? Welcome to our humble Hillview Town.” 

“Aunt Rose, is it alright if we can borrow your phone?” Delsin asked. “Both of ours including the booth outside were dead.” 

She expressed a surprised look, “Oh dear…regarding this I’m afraid I’m beyond help.” 

Both just looked at her in return. 

“The entire town communication line was completely down an hour ago.” 

“Serious? Just great…bad timing.” 

(That explains the technicians I saw back there) Sebastian folded his arms across his chest.  

“One of the cops dropped by to inform me the line might take a while to fix it up,” she shrugged. “They don’t know what’s the cause is nor the source of the problem lies. Hopefully they can it done by tomorrow.”

(Communication line breakdown… source of problem unknown…is this some kind of a coincidence? Did Guillermo did this to stop me from seeking help?) Sebastian ponders. 

She suddenly hit her right fist on her left palm. “Oh I just remember! Ezio and Francis came to my store three hours ago, looking for you.” 

“What did they say?” Delsin asked. 

“Nothing much. Just asking me if you did drop by my shop. You owe them an explanation.” 

“Guessed I am,” he rubbed his chin before turning to Sebastian, “So what do you intend to do now?” 

“I guess I’ll just stay a night at the motel…”his voice trailed off the moment his stomach growled loudly and there’s was a moment of stony silence atmosphere surrounding the shop. Sebastian felt so badly embarrassed. He noticed Delsin was staring at him, dumbfounded. 

“Erm…you want grab a small bite?” 

Rose let out a soft laugh. “You poor guy. You must be starving the entire time. Give me a minute.”  

She strolled to a nearby shelf and took out a cute white paper bag with a pink ribbon tied on it. She passed it to him.

“Here’s some leftover butter sugar bread I baked this morning. It’s not much but please take it.” 

Sebastian just looked at the bread.  

“Oh dearie,” she waved her hand. “You don’t have to be so shy about it. Take it as a welcome gift from me.” 

”Thank you so much.” He helped himself to the bread. (Delicious) 

“You both should go back now,” she returned to the counter. “Don’t keep your friends waiting.” 

They bade her a goodbye and goodnight as they left and headed for the motel further down the road when Sebastian felt a soft tap on his shoulder.

“Hey Sebastian.” “Yeah?” “I was wondering if you don’t mind about this,” Delsin stood in front of him. “You sure you want to stay at the motel?” 

“Why?” 

“Well the doctor we met,” he continued. “I have a hunch that he could still be out there looking for you. I’m kind of feeling uneasy leaving you alone all by yourself. So I thought of inviting you to stay over at our place instead.” 

“Thanks but I don’t want to trouble you no further,” Sebastian declined his kind offer. “After all we just only met and you’ve done so much for me. I will feel bad if you know what I meant.” 

“Hey,” Delsin gave a gentle pat on his shoulder. “There’s nothing to feel bad about it. What’s more it’s already late and there’s no transportation now. And we don’t even know when that freak’s gonna show up.”

“I…” Sebastian looked at him. 

“Don’t worry about it. I will explain your situation to my friends, they will understand,” he gave a thumbs up.  

“Guess I have no choice but to accept then.”

As Delsin was about to lead the way when he noticed someone standing in the middle of the road at a distance. The street lamp shone on him and his shadow cast on the quiet street in an eerie atmosphere. In an instinct, Delsin quickly stopped Sebastian in his track, his hand gesturing him to get behind. 

That ‘someone’ approached them slowly in steady steps. Delsin with Sebastian behind him, drew back slowly as well. The Conduit growled as he got into his attack stance and ready his chain whip. 

“Delsin?”  

"Whatever you do," he whispered softly to him. "Stay close to me no matter what, ok?" 

Sebastian knew what Delsin was trying to do and nodded his head in return, signalling to him that he got his point of his words. They retreated to a narrow alley. It may be a disadvantage to both sides but at least Delsin can keep his friend safe from harm’s way. If the enemy were to attack, he will be the first to embrace it. 

“Didn’t expect you to follow us all the way here,” Delsin eyed at the shadow. 

“You’re an alert one,” Guillermo emerged from it. “I’ve come to fetch my guest. It is very rude of you to snatch him away from me at the first place.” 

“Is that so?” he said. “Seems to me you’re trying to kidnap him.” 

Guillermo, without wasting any time, looked up towards the electric cable post above. The cables for no reason snapped and high voltage of electricity lunged dangerously towards both. Delsin quickly used his body as a shield to protect Sebastian. He summoned a fire barrier to engulf themselves in it as electrics clashed with it causing a small explosion as a result. Sparks of flames and electrics spread out in different directions. Delsin silently thanked his Akomish Tribe god that the explosive was not lethal. If not it will cause a collateral damage.  

He then checked on Sebastian and was relieved that he’s unharmed but was shivering uncontrollably. He had to think and acted fast. If he keeps dragging on, Sebastian might not be able to take it.  

Once the electric subsided, Delsin decided to take this opportunity to retreat to an isolated place where he won’t get the town’s residents and Rose involved. He quickly grabbed Sebastian by his hand and ran as fast as they could. 

Seeing his targets retreating, Guillermo followed suit. There’s no way he will let them escape! 

Delsin and Sebastian ran to the town’s port. The young Conduit unleashed his flames onto his whip and stood on his ground, not moving. Ready to face the incoming threat.  Sebastian stood beside him. He quietly observed his new found friend and his brave action. Though they knew each other for only a short night, he had already gone such measure just to protect him.  

He began to feel that he’s a burden; he only brings trouble to those close to him yet he’s helpless. He did consider using his ‘gift’ to assist Delsin however he was reluctant. It’s not that he refuses to aid, he feared them.  He feared that if he really used them, he will lose complete control. Instead of helping out, he might ended up hurting Delsin. But his true fear was becoming like Ruvik. He lowered his head, gritted his teeth in sheer frustration and balled both his hands into fists. 

“Sebastian…are you….alright?” He snapped back to reality, lifted his head up just to see Delsin looking at him with a concerned and worried look.  

He quickly looked away, “It’s nothing.” 

“You seems to be troubled,” Delsin said.  Sebastian wasn’t sure if he should tell that he’s the same as him. Delsin did honestly tell him that he’s a Conduit because of the trust he had for him. But will Delsin able to trust Sebastian if he knew the detective’s power is far more powerful than his?  

“Sebastian?” 

“I’m alright…” he convinced him. “Just a little shaken after all this shit is happening.” 

“It will be alright,” Delsin replied. “I will see to it.” 

Just then Delsin felt the older man was gripping at his denim jacket tightly. 

“Why?” he asked. 

“Huh?” 

“Why are you doing this for me?”  Delsin doesn’t know how to answer him back. He had no answer for it. Maybe that’s what he wants to do, probably his natural instinct or his Akomish Tribe Teachings. His friend, Aunt Betty, always told him to use his ‘Gift’ for greater good especially to help those who’s in need.  

He heard Sebastian’s pleas of help when he was back at the warehouses, doing his graffiti. He can’t bring himself to just leave him alone to deal with the old man. 

“Let’s just put it that I’m helping a friend,” he smirked while turning back to look at Sebastian. 

“We only know each other for only a short time and you already regarded me as a friend?” 

Delsin raised an eyebrow, wondering why Sebastian will say that…  “Well…,” Delsin replied then his face blushed a little out of shyness. “I don’t know why but somehow I got this feeling that we met before.” 

Sebastian was loss for words. Before he can said anything, Guillermo had already caught up with them.  “There you are,” the doctor approached them.

“I’m not going to hold back this time.”  

“I guess we talk later!” As Delsin whipped his fiery chain whip onto the ground, signalling the doctor that he’s prepared to fight face to face with him. “Bring it on.” 

 

End Of chapter 4 

 


	5. One of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! I finally get to post chapter 5!  
> Enjoy the story. Sorry about my horrible writing skills :(

Delsin swiped his fire chain whip towards Guillermo. Though he's an old man, his reflexes were fast. This time he was the one who grabbed the whip instead of the doll.

"I won't fall for that again," he said.

"I figure out you will say something like that," Delsin yelled at him. The young Conduit with one hand gripping his weapon, he used his other hand to shot out three fireballs towards Guillermo. However the doctor didn't even bother dodging it, he just stood there as the fire blasted on him.

Sebastian nearly stumbled from the impact when Delsin quickly grabbed hold of him and pulled him back on balance, followed by leading him into a warehouse nearby.

"Stay close," he said. "Help me keep a lookout for that doll."

"Huh?"

"If you noticed it earlier, that doll is nowhere to be seen," he explained. "Back at the town, she wasn't with him. I have a hunch she's hiding somewhere to give us a surprise attack."

"Leave her to me," Sebastian looked around. "You just focus on him."

"I'm counting on you," Delsin answered back but didn't realise that his response somehow startled him.

" _I need my partner here! I'm counting on you, Joseph."_ Those words came back to his mind. Sebastian closed his eyes and shook his head slightly to shake off that thought. He can't turn back to the way it was before. He had to move forth even though it's painful for him.

And he knew that his best friend and partner, Joseph isn't coming back anymore.

(Come on Sebastian! Focus!) He cleared his mind and kept an alert lookout for that annoying doll. Like Delsin said; she could be hiding anywhere for a surprise attack. If she does, he knows how to deal with her. Since he had already done it back in the train.

He strangely can sense her presence nearby. His psychic focus turned his attention towards a stack of barrels further down, not far from them, at the corner of the warehouse. He could feel a different aura emitting from it; different from the rest he sensed. There's no doubt about it. There's no mistake.

Before realization, he was suddenly pushed to the ground hard and heard a loud glass shattering sounds. Delsin's hands were wrapped around him to shield him from the sharp glasses pouring down on them then silence. Sebastian slowly lifted his head up just to see shards of glasses scattered all over the ground.

(Delsin!) He quickly checked on the young man. Surprisingly he was perfectly fine and was staring down at him.

"Sorry about that sudden shove," he apologised. "That doctor is serious this time. You ok?"

"I'm fine but…" Sebastian noticed a shard pierced on Delsin's shoulder and blood was staining his clothes slowly. He immediately panicked. "You're hurt!"

However Delsin was calm. He showed no sign of pain instead he just causally plucked the shard out as if it was just dirt.

"Don't worry about me," he smiled. "This is nothing to me."

(Nothing?!) He couldn't believe what he just heard. (A glass shard just stabbed you and all you can say this is nothing?!)

Delsin got back up and fired another fire blast at Guillermo however he deflected it. Delsin whipped his chain whip towards him again. It slashed at the doctor's face, leaving a cut across his cheek.

Delsin raised one of his hands. The lights around the warehouse suddenly flash brightly. Sebastian watches as light particles emitted from the lamps, fluorescent light etc. gathered at the Conduit's hand, slowly forming a light orb. Once fully formed, he flung it towards Guillermo. It exploded the moment it touches him, causing the entire warehouse to engulf in a bright light.

Sebastian was temporarily blinded by the flash.

"Seb…," he heard Delsin's voice as the lad led him to a nearby pillar and hid him there. "You'll be safe here."

"The doll…" Sebastian tugged at Delsin's jacket and whispered softly. "I know where she is."

Without a word, Delsin whirled around and flung the shard which was stabbed on him previously, towards the barrels. There was a sight screech and the doll merged from her hiding spot. She camouflaged herself within it, hiding her presence from them. Sadly it didn't work out since Sebastian was able to detect her.

He soon felt a bit sorry for that doll. First she got a crack on her face, second she got burnt and now she got stabbed.

"How do you know she's there?" asked Delsin.

"Sixth sense I guess," he replied.

Belle blankly stared down at the shard pierced on her chest. With her tiny marble hands, she pulled it out and dropped it to the ground. She glared at both with her marble eyes.

The barrels behind her levitated and she followed suit. She then points to them both. The barrels suddenly propelled towards their direction. Sebastian, driven by the same unknown force he had experienced back at the train, raised one of his hands in defence.

The barrels immediately halt in mid-air. It just stopped there like they were being held in place by an invisible force. Delsin was taken by surprise as well as shocked that he stood still on his spot. He made a quick glance at Sebastian.

"Seb…?" He was expecting an explanation on this bizarre happening. Sebastian didn't dare to look back at him but he silently mumbled a soft apology.

Guillermo, taking this chance, took out a handgun from his coat pocket and fired at Delsin.

The young Conduit stared with his eyes wide at the frozen bullet just a few inches away from his face. He took a few steps backward. He stared at the barrels at the side, back to the bullet then to Sebastian again.

Sebastian just stood there. His hand already lowered down but both objects still hovered in the air as if they're awaiting for his orders or frozen in time.

Sebastian moved his hand in a circle motion manner, diverting both barrels and bullet's course of directions; making them faced both their attackers.

With everything in position, Sebastian gave the signal by clenching his fist. Barrels flew towards the doll and the bullet fired itself towards Guillermo. Belle managed to evade out of the way as the barrels crashes at where she was.

Except Guillermo, he strangely let the bullet hit him like what he did previously for the fire. It hit him right at his stomach however he never even flinched. Instead the doctor just dug his finger into his wound and pulled out the blood-stained bullet before tossing it aside.

The inflicted wound then closes by itself.

"Impressive," Guillermo said. "Too bad your ability's still not strong as him yet."

Sebastian turned his attention a stack of steel pipes piled at the top level of the warehouse.

"You leave me with no choice," he snarled back at Guillermo. "I don't like doing this but…"

The steel pipes shook violently, snapped free from its restraint and hovered dangerously in the air. Sebastian immediately points to the doctor and the pipes strikes.

Cloud of dust and dirt spread out and crashing sounds echoed through the warehouse as the pipes fell, trying to crush or impaled the doctor.

Delsin used both his hands to cover his eyes from the incoming dust. It lasted for minute before it finally subsided. He wonders if the freak survives that attack as he tried to get a better look. He heard a soft bump and saw Sebastian was sitting on the floor, sweating and panting. He quickly leaned down to check on him.

"Sebastian?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

(I just used a little and I'm already exhausted like this. Probably I never used my gift till this extent.) He slowly helped himself up, still felt a bit wobbly on his legs.

"You think he's dead?" Delsin asked as he looked at the steel pipes piled up at where the doctor was.

"I doubt it…" Sebastian replied. "He doesn't look like the type that can be killed off so easily."

He suddenly felt an intense sharp pain on his head that he cupped his hands over his head and staggered backwards.

"Sebastian!" Delsin rushed forth.

"I'm ok. I tend to have these relapse every time I used them."

"Them? You're talking about your powers?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I wanted to tell you but…"

"Save it for later," Delsin interrupted. "Our priority now is getting out of here."

Sebastian somehow agreed with the young lad. He nodded in return.

They were about to make their retreat when Belle suddenly appeared out from nowhere and clenched herself onto Delsin and bite him viciously on his neck. Delsin screamed in pain as he struggled to get the doll off him before she torn off his flesh. Blood had already started oozing out from his neck.

"Delsin!" Sebastian grabbed the doll, trying to pull her off him. "Get off from him!"

A strong hand wrapped around Sebastian's neck and dragged him away from Delsin. He choked a little and grasped at the hand that was holding him.

Delsin, unable to withstand the pain, fell to the ground. He was startled to see Guillermo unscathed. "How in the world did you…?"

"You both think that you can kill me with just these attacks?" he smirked as he choke hold Sebastian tightly. "I've had been alive for a decades. Attacks like these won't hurt me since I'm not a human to begin with."

Sebastian found he was unable to breathe and started to cough. Seeing his friend in peril, Delsin gritted his teeth in rage. Not caring about safety, he used his full strength and managed to separate the doll from him. However the doll had already inflicted a deep wound on his neck. Delsin quickly used his hand to stop the bleeding.

"I don't know what you want with him," Delsin growled. "But let him go."

"You think I will?" He tightened his hold causing Sebastian to gasp for air again. Delsin knew that old man won't let his target go so easily. He noticed he was still bleeding.

(Strange, my wounds should have healed by now.)

"You're wondering why your wounds won't heal isn't it?" Guillermo asked. He seems to know what Delsin was thinking.

"How do you know?"

Guillermo just smiled back. The young Conduit again felt another stabbing pain on his back. He turned to see Belle stabbed a long nail onto him. She giggled and hopped off. Delsin fell back on his knees again.

(Shit…I didn't sense her.) He plucked out the nail and tossed it aside. He felt an immediate drowsiness, his sight were losing focus that he found that he no longer had the strength to get back up.

"What did you do?" he questioned.

"Poison," the doctor answered. "That poison she gave prevents you from healing yourself. Though a Conduit, you ain't immortal."

"Is that so?" Delsin shakily got back up to his feet. But then he spotted something and slowly lowered himself down again. Seeing his sudden change of action, Guillermo wonders why he did that when it wasn't long he noticed a small red dot positioned itself at his heart.

"What the…"

There was a loud gunshot. Both Sebastian and Guillermo fell hard on the ground. Sebastian hastily freed himself from Guillermo's grip, got to his knees and crawled away towards Delsin's side. Belle in shock flew towards her master to check on him when a hand grabbed her by the collar. She gazed up just to see a young man with long silver hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing a blue trench coat, glaring down at her.

"Fr…Francis?" Delsin called out.

"You sure made a lot of wreck," he holds the doll tightly as it tried to scratch him with her sharp marble hands.

Francis slammed her down hard on the ground. He mumbled some strange words and she instantly froze. He then releases her and she just lied there motionlessly.

"Did you…?"

"I just cast an immobilize spell on her," he walked towards Delsin and Sebastian and kneeled down. "You're hurt."

"These wounds are nothing," Delsin looked with concern at Sebastian.

"I'm ok. But you…"

"I don't get it," Delsin stared at his hands stained by his own blood. "What kind of poison did he give me?"

He suddenly recalled the doctor and whirled back. Guillermo was still lying there with his eyes closed.

"The gunshot?"

Francis pointed up. Both saw a young man with a long brown hair, tied up just like Francis. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt with a sweater vest with a hood attached, denim jeans and sneakers, waving down at them. They watched as he climbed his way down in an amazing agility before landing in front of them.

"Whoever this guy is," he stood up. "He won't be able to move so soon since the bullet I shot with him had the same effects on that…" he glanced down at the doll. "…puppet…"

"Ezio, you're here too?"

"You know you got us worried," Francis carefully checked on Delsin's wound. "Your wounds aren't serious but it's best to get it treat before infection. I will do something about the poison. And he is?" Francis gestured to Sebastian.

"Sebastian Castellanos," Delsin replied. "He's a friend of mine. We just met. That doctor was trying to kidnap him."

Upon hearing that, Francis helped Delsin and Sebastian up. "Let's get of here first before they regain conscious. We'll talk about this later. The jeep's outside."

Francis started the jeep engine while Ezio took out a first aid kit spray from a backpack before handing it over to Sebastian.

"This might sting a little."

The young Conduit swallowed hard as the medicine sprayed on his injuries. The pain was unbearable that he gritted his teeth and made a soft groaning sound.

With his wound clean, Sebastian proceeded to bandage it. Delsin then gave his thanks in return.

"We have to leave this place now," Francis said. "The commotion caused the cops at Hillview Town on an alert. It will be bad if we stay. They might end up finding us."

"Well guess we had no other choice. So where should we head to now?" Ezio asked.

"I might have the slight idea of where we should be heading."

Francis then turned to Sebastian. "Can you come with us?"

"Huh?"

"It's not safe for you to linger here anymore. We will take you some place safe," he narrowed his eyes. "I sensed something about you. You're just like us."

Sebastian was taken aback by what he said.

"It's ok," Francis reassured him. "We won't hurt you or anything. You will be safe with us."

"I don't know if I should…" Sebastian gave a worried look. "I already got Delsin involved in this. I don't want to drag you both down too."

"It might be already too late for that," Francis said. "The doll saw my face."

Sebastian went silent.

"Come on," Francis boarded the jeep. "Where do you stay? We can give you a lift there."

Sebastian felt a gentle pat on his back. He saw Delsin giving him a nod and boarded the jeep. With no option left, Sebastian followed.

The jeep drove down a small rocky path. It was a short ride till they reached the main road. As the jeep drove into the night, Sebastian at the back seat went to check on his watch and found it was already 4am.

"Destination?"

Sebastian looked up just to see Francis's reflection on the rear view mirror.

"I'm actually heading for Hill Lake Point. It's the next town after Hillview."

"Hill Lake Point, huh?" Francis checked on the GPS tracker. "About two hours ride."

"By the way," he continued. "Allow me to introduce myself; I'm Francis Kenderick and this is my younger brother, Ezio."

"Nice to meet you," Ezio smiled.

"It is nice to meet you all. And thank you for your help back there," Sebastian gave his thanks.

"No worries," Ezio leaned back on his passenger seat as he stretched his arms.

"So Delsin, mind explaining what happened back there?" Francis asked. "We were looking for you until I heard a loud explosion outside town, followed by a bright flash coming from the port. You got into a fight with that stranger?"

"Sort of," Delsin rubbed his neck to soothe the pain. "I can't leave Sebastian to deal with him alone."

"Is that man a Conduit?"

"I don't think he is. I don't sense any genes from him. But from what I know is," Delsin and Sebastian looked at each other. "He's after him."

Francis and Ezio kept quiet making Sebastian felt extremely uncomfortable. The silence was brief until Francis decided to speak.

"Sebastian Castellanos," he said. "I know we just met. And I know it's kind of a sudden but we wish to know what's going on. Remember what I say to you back at the warehouse? I said you're just like us."

"Yes I remember," Sebastian nodded. "I was about to ask you that."

"You're a psychic, right?"

Sebastian was surprised. "You can tell just by looking?"

"That's my speciality. But why the old man and that doll try to get you? You know them before?" Francis asked.

"No," Sebastian shook his head. "I just met them. On the train bound for Hill Lake Point. They had been chasing me since I escaped from there."

"They chased you all the way here?" Ezio asked. "Quite persistent I have to say."

"I don't know what they want from me," Sebastian continued his explanation. "But I do recall that Guillermo said he want me to do something for him. What is his goal? I really don't know."

Francis listened carefully as he drove. "So Guillermo is the name of that person who attacked you both at the warehouse? Then what about the doll?"

Sebastian shook his head. "No clue. All I know he calls her Belle."

"A doll with a free will?" Francis rubbed his chin. (Could he be like me?)

"Francis?" Ezio called out to him. "What's wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing. I didn't expect our night at Hillview Town will be so…unexpected. Anyway to answer Sebastian's question, I'm already assumed that Delsin told you about him being a Conduit, right?"

Sebastian and Delsin exchanged looks before both nodded their heads in return.

"Guess it can't be help," Francis gave a faint smile. "It's true Delsin's a Conduit. To be honest the three of us are gifted." He looked up to the rear view mirror and chuckled at the astonishment on Sebastian's face. "Now we met another like us."

"You and Ezio are Conduits too?"

"Hmm…Not really," Ezio answered. "We are different from Delsin. We both don't possess the Conduit Genes."

"Conduit Genes?" Sebastian frowned.

"It's a kind of rare mutation in human beings," Delsin said. "I'm a sub-species of humans who possess superhuman abilities afforded them by it. The gene was a distinctive part of the human anatomy, and can only be seen by a select few and I'm one of them. To those who can see the genes mostly appear yellow in color, and are located in the torso, near the spinal cord of an individual. That's why I mentioned earlier that Guillermo isn't a Conduit as I didn't detect it in him."

"So I assume those who aren't Conduits are therefore known as the 'Gifted?"

"Bingo," Delsin nodded. "But for Francis, he's basically known as a Salem witch or male-witch."

"A male-witch?" Sebastian titled his head confused. "I thought witches are all females..."

"Surprised aren't you?" Ezio looked at him. "Francis's special. He's one of a kind."

"Male-witches are extremely rare," Francis explained. "Out of a population of 1000 witches, only one male-witch will be born. No one will knows when he will arrive. The period can vary; sometimes it can be a year, decades or centuries."

Sebastian was amused. "So in this generation, you're the only one?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe or maybe not."

"I see," Sebastian gestured to Ezio. "What about you?"

"Me? Just an ordinary assassin."

"He possessed a high concentration of First Civilization DNA," Francis continued for him. "A lineage involving both human and the creator blood; direct descendant of Adam. He's able to manipulate people's minds and illusion. He will demonstrate it to you someday."

Ezio sighed. "You too, Francis."

"Aren't they also known as Those Who Came Before, the Precursors or Homo Sapiens Divinius? An ancient and advanced species of humanoid beings that were amongst the first known to call Earth their home?" asked Sebastian.

"Oh you know about them too?" Ezio was curious.

"I read about them in libraries. I thought they were just myths and legends…"

"Sometimes they can be real," Francis said. "It's only when we can get to see it with our own eyes. Anyway let's focus on getting to for Hill Lake Point. We will talk about this later. Do you have anyone you know live there?"

"My uncle," Sebastian leaned forth. "He's probably worried about me now but you sure you all want to do this?" Sebastian asked.

"Huh?" They turned to him.

"Well I don't know what to say but I really don't want to trouble you three any further."

"It's alright," Ezio said. "Just let us help besides we travelled a lot. And Hill Lake Point seems to be a good place to explore."

"Kinda true," Francis agreed. "Don't feel bad about it."

"I really don't know how to repay you all but I'm grateful," Sebastian smiled. "Maybe when we get there, I asked my uncle if he can let you three stay for a short vacation."

"Sounds nice," Delsin nudged him.

(Guillermo….) Francis thought to himself. (Where have I heard this name before.)

 

End of chapter 5

 


	6. The Ride

"You know the way?" Ezio asked.

"Yup," Francis checked. "The GPS tracker shows it's actually a straightforward drive. I just need to follow this expressway and we will be there in no time."

"I wonder if Aunt Rose knows where we are now…" Delsin gazed up to the sky.

"I dropped her a message while we were back at eatery. Telling her that we are heading to Hill Lake Point to do some errands."

"Any news on that incident?" Sebastian asked. "I mean the explosion and the port."

"From her reply, the cops dismissed it as a property damage from hooligans since Hillview Town had some living nearby. Previously 4 days ago, there was a minor firework explosion. They caught the culprit though. I guessed the cops assumed it was the work from his fellow gang."

"I see," Sebastian slowly leaned back down on the back seat and felt slightly relaxed. He then turned to gaze towards the green sceneries outside. (At least the residents were unharmed. It will be bad if the news spread.)

Though the journey was only two hours, it was still a long ride there. They stopped by the petrol station to refill before resuming on.

After an hour passed, Francis parked the jeep at the side of the expressway to double check the GPS again to see if they were on the right track.

"So far so good," he steered back to the main road. "You guys don't mind if I turn on the radio?

"Go ahead," Delsin said. "I'm dying for some music."

"May I request no classic music?" Sebastian waved his hand in a 'No' gesture.

"You don't like it?"

He eventually recalled his very first encounter with the Sadist, the chainsaw killer back in the Beacon Mental Asylum basement. Sebastian was held captive by him in the bloody slaughter room and that very particular classic music played when he butchered his victims mercilessly; it leaves a very deep impact in Sebastian's memory. He clearly recalled that monster severed a victim into half with his butcher knife right beside him. The groaning and moaning sound of the victim makes his hair stand. However till now, he couldn't understand why the Sadist didn't kill him in the first place when he noticed the detective was still alive yet he chose to kill the one beside him first.

Could it be Ruvik who ordered the chainsaw man to spare him?

Nevertheless, he was glad he's still in one piece. Sebastian rubbed off that dreadful thoughts and focused on remembering the music. (What was that music called again? Ah yes 'Clair De Lune'…I never want to hear that name again.)

"Let's just said I had bad experience before."

Ezio snicker at his answer. "Don't worry, I had bad experiences with those too when my family brought me to the opera. Merda…that singing was like a typhoon storm hitting a ship."

"Alright, I will avoid the classic frequency. I'm turning it on now." The moment Francis switches the radio on, news was the first to be played.

"Welcome to frequency 230," a woman's voice spoke out. "Today News 119 will bring you an update; A train which left Krimson Express Station on 4pm yesterday evening, bound for Hill Lake Point destination was found abandoned on its tracks, a distance away from the nearest town, Hillview. 250 passengers including the train operator aboard this very train were nowhere to be found. Though their belongings were left behind, police find no traces of assaults, breakdowns etc. Police claimed that this very strange 'spirited away' happenings were similar to the ones happened back in Krimson City months ago. Police were also unable to confirm whether this case were committed by the very same mysterious organization or by copycats."

A profound feelings of disquiet was slowly building up within the jeep.

"Is that the train which you were on board yesterday night?" Ezio points to the radio while turning over to look at Sebastian but he never spoke a word in return. Instead he was listening attentively as the news continued.

"Police also found out that one of the passengers happens to be the sole survivor of Beacon Mental Hospital Massacre Case a month ago, Sebastian Castellanos; a detective from Krimson City Police Department. His uncle, William Castellanos, aged 65, resident of Hill Lake Point, confirmed with the cops that his nephew was indeed aboard this train, heading over to visit him. If anyone had seen this man, other passengers or any witnesses or information, please notify your nearby police station. Your help will be greatly appreciate."

"This sounds bad," Delsin said. Sebastian lowered his head, clasped both hands tightly and shuddered. Francis who was observing Sebastian all the time, began to fret for him. He barely knows him yet he didn't want Sebastian to agonize over some personal matters which he's unwilling to share with others.

Francis promptly knew what he had to do; that is to keep him safe.

"Is there anyone else seen Sebastian?" he asked as he drove.

"So far only us and Rose," Delsin replied.

"Aunt Rose? Well I guess it won't be long before…" His cell phone rang. He picked it up to see the caller ID. "Yup it's her." He answered.

"Francis?" Her voice called out.

"Did you all saw the news on TV?!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe the sole survivor of Beacon is that young man who came to my shop yesterday and now this train incident…" Then she took a deep breathe. "Is he doing alright? He's with you?"

"Yup," Francis took a peek at the rear view mirror just to see Sebastian with troubled expression written on his face. "He's… doing fine."

"What had happened yesterday must have been a terrible experience for him," she continued. "He must had witnessed what happened to the other passengers aboard. Does he know who's responsible? And how did he managed to escape?"

So many questions asked yet that Francis had no answers for her. Besides he already knew Sebastian had been through a hard lot and it was best not to solicit answers from him for the time being. He needs some time to be left undisturbed.

"I'm sorry Aunt Rose," Francis quietly answered. "But I suggested we leave him alone for now. He's exhausted."

"Oh I'm so terribly sorry!" she immediately apologised back. "I don't know what's gotten over me. When I saw the news, my heart starts to pump with anxiety in an instance. That's why I have to call to check on him."

"Thank you so much for your concern but don't worry, we're here for him and I will make sure he gets back home safely. Anyway how's the situation back at the town now?"

"So far it has quiet down. Everything's back to normal and people are resuming their daily routine. Workers were already dispatched to fix up the damage. From the way I look, I can tell those hooligans weren't capable of making such damages like this, did Delsin got into a fight with his kind?"

"To summarize it up; both Delsin and Sebastian were attacked by a stranger after they left your shop so those damages you saw were…well…you know the rest," Francis sighed.

"Then that stranger," she asked again. "Is he gone?"

"We weren't sure. He was unconscious when we escaped. Rose, can you do us a favour?" he lowered down the radio volume.

"What is it?"

"About your meeting with Sebastian, can you keep mum about it?"

She was rather surprised by Francis's request. "Why?"

"We don't want to cause any unnecessary commotion," he explained. "With the news just broadcast on TV and radio, everyone probably knows how Sebastian looks like now. Who knows what will happen if you go telling others that you had seen him."

She thought for a while and realized he does had a point. It will be a hassle if she gets unwanted attention from media etc. "Very well. Have you all reach your destination?"

"Soon."

There was a fraught silence on the phone. "Wait…that stranger who ambushed Delsin and Sebastian followed up by this news. Two things occurred in a single night, do you think there's some connection?"

Francis frowned. It seems there's more things to scrutinize. But with Sebastian in this crack-up state, it will only lead to naught.

"Rose, I think that's enough questioning for now. I'll call you again when we safely reached Hill Lake Point."

"Alright, be careful," she hung up the phone.

Francis then drifted into deep thoughts. (Guillermo, stranded train and the missing passengers... Same night occurrence; a coincident indeed. Aunt Rose is right; there's definitely a connection to it.)

Then something struck his mind. (Wait… If that's the fact and Guillermo is after Sebastian. Then William Castellanos, might be in danger since both are related. The news on TV…don't say the radio, have shown millions of viewers his uncle's face, Guillermo could be among them.)

Panic overwhelmed him. He quickly stepped on the accelerator pedal and the jeep sped off down the expressway.

"Whoa! Francis what's with you?" Ezio was taken aback by his brother's sudden change of action.

Francis ignored him and continued to keep at this speed. Little did they realize that Guillermo was spying on them at a distance. The doctor gently caressing Belle's soft hair as the doll sat comfortably on his arms with her eyes closed as if she was sleeping. He watched as the jeep drove down the road.

"I promise," he whispered softly to his beloved doll. "I'll make sure you live a normal life like the old days and you don't have to suffer again."

Sebastian was dialling his uncle's house number but his hands were trembling uncontrollably that he kept pressing the wrong buttons. He managed to dial it correctly in the end however his uncle didn't answered his call.

(Come on uncle…) he pleaded. (Pick up the phone please!)

Finally someone answered his call. Sebastian could feel his heart leapt.

"Uncle!" he called out but then his heart instantly sank when the responder was instead his uncle's voice message.

"Hello this William Castellanos speaking. I'm sorry but I'm unable to pick up your call now. Please try again later or leave a message. Gracias y lo siento." Then followed by a beeping sound.

He hung up the phone, double over and cupping his head in his palms in frustration. His uncle must be worrying about his whereabouts. He could be with the cops searching for him high and low, assisting them in their investigation.

With all these happenings and someone whom he barely even know is after him for unknown reason. He now feared that his pursuer might go after his uncle. Why all of these tragic events is happening to him? He had already lost his wife, child and a good friend. Is he going to lose his uncle too? His only relative. He was palpitating with terror at the thought of it. He therefore prayed hard that his uncle will be there to greet him as usual like the last time when he reached his house.

"Sebastian," a gentle voice reached out to him. He turned to Delsin.

"Is something troubling you?" Delsin hates to see him like this while Sebastian himself doesn't want Delsin to see him like this.

"Hmm," he shook his head and gave a faint smile in return. "I'm fine. Just tired."

Delsin however could tell that smile was a fake. He knew all along that Sebastian didn't want him to get worried all the time so he decided to play along in order not to worsen the situation.

"Ok," he smiled back. "Try to rest more."

Francis drove till he saw a big border at the side of road reading "Welcome to Hill Lake Point."

"We're here," he said. He was hoping to see Sebastian's mood lightened up a little sadly it didn't work out at all. He was too lost in his thoughts that he became ignorant of his surroundings.

The trio exchanged anxious looks with one another then back to him. Ezio then gave Francis a nudge, gesturing to him to say something.

Francis gave a slight cough to draw Sebastian's attention. "Are you able to guide me to your uncle's house from here?"

No response.

"Erm Sebastian? Francis to Sebastian."

"Sebastian!" Delsin poked him. As if in a dream, Sebastian jolted awake.

"Yes?" he said.

"We already reached Hill Lake Point," Francis turned over to him. "I was asking if you can guide me there."

"Oh yeah sure," he shifted forward and pointed towards a small hill which they are driving towards it. "Head straight all the way from here and when you drove past an old oak tree, turn to your right."

Francis did what he was told. It was a thirty minute straight drive. The moment he spotted an old oak tree at the side of the road, he turned the jeep to the right. They were immediately greeted by farmers busily working on their crops and farm animals grazing lazily at the open fields. They could spot some elderly women walking down the lane below holding baskets of flowers chatting happily whilst some riding on a horse-drawn cart.

Such a tranquil and greenery sight that Francis was completely mesmerised by it. It reminded him so much of his homeland back in Springfield.

"It feels like I'm back home," he mumbled to himself.

"Francis, turn here," Sebastian points to the left. An upward lane marked by a weather vane. Francis slowly steered the jeep and maintained a slow speed. It wasn't long until they reached a big farmhouse in a big open green meadow. It was way bigger than the rest they saw back there.

Delsin gaped at the magnificent farmhouse. It was built from stones and woods. As they drove closer, they could see a flower garden fenced up by a stone ledge with a water fountain and further down was a stable and horses gambolling and romping nearby.

Judging from the layout, they can tell Sebastian was from a wealthy family. Francis parked the jeep at the gate entrance. Sebastian swiftly alighted, pushed opened the gates then dashed towards the main door.

"Officer," a man about his 60s, was talking on a phone. "Any updates on my nephew?"

"I'm sorry sir, we're still looking into it. Please rest assured. Once we find him, we will let you know."

The officer's repetitive answer vexed William that he angrily slammed the phone back hard. He paced towards the sofa and slumped himself against the cushion.

He stared at a photo frame on a table stand to his right. It was the photo of his nephew taken during his teen days, behind him were his parents. He picked up the frame and gently stroked it with his thumb. He could feel tears welling up slowly in his eyes that he took off his glasses to wipe them off.

(First was my brother, sister-in-law and my wife, then Lily and Myra, now him. Sebastian where could you be? Please tell me you're safe somewhere…)

His family had been through so much tragedy that he wondered what sins they had done in the past that God took his family members away one by one.

It wasn't long when he was snapped back to reality by a loud knocking sound followed by an impatient ringing of the doorbell at the main door.

(Who could it be?) He put his glasses back on, clumsily got up and walked towards it. (The only visitor I'm getting is my nephew. I don't recall inviting others.)

"Coming, coming!" He shouted. "What's the hurry!?"

He opens the door slightly and peeked out through a narrow opening. "Who is it?"

He was greeted by a very familiar voice. "Uncle!"

William couldn't believe what he just heard. He burst opened the door and stepped out just to see Sebastian standing right in front of him, panting.

Before he can react, Sebastian gave him a tight hug. William's glasses slanted to the side that he quickly readjusted them by pushing them back up on his nose bridge.

"Sebastian? Sebby is it you? Is it really you?" he asked. His nephew nodded his head. William began to snivel and hugged Sebastian back tightly. "I thought you were gone when I heard that dreadful news. But thank god….I'm so glad you're alright."

(Uncle's alright!) Sebastian squeezed him tight. "I had the same thoughts too. I thought I'll never see you again, uncle."

William then reached out to cup his nephew's face in both hands and placed his forehead onto his. "Hush don't say that. Most importantly is that now you're safe and sound."

"I won't be here if it wouldn't for them."

"Who?"

Sebastian turned back and waved to Francis and the others who were still inside the jeep, parked at the gate. William peered at them as they waved back.

"How do you get to know them?" he asked.

"I met them at Hillview Town uncle," Sebastian said. "They saved me and gave me a lift here."

William had never felt so appreciated. At first he thought he really lost his nephew now the situation had changed. A rejoice indeed as his nephew's safe and sound at his doorstep. "Please do invite them in. I must repay them with for their kind help!"

Francis saw Sebastian motioning them to come over. He signalled back with a wave.

"Come on guys," he proceeded to off the radio when a loud screeching, high pitch static sound suddenly played out. It was so loud and deafening that the trio quickly covered their ears in pain. Francis quickly shut it off and fell back on his driver seat.

"What the hell was that?" he shook his head. "All of a sudden…"

He checked on Ezio.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Ezio replied.

Then to Delsin. "You?"

"I'm fine too but what was that? he was rubbing his temples. "The radio just went crazy on us."

"I had no idea," Francis inspected the radio but found nothing wrong with it when he suddenly felt a sharp wave sensation struck him. He instinctively exit the vehicle and whirled around to find that source but sees nothing.

He carefully scanned around the area again. He was unable to detect yet he senses his presence from the nearby woods. He scowled and stomped his feet.

"Francis?" Both Ezio and Delsin were startled. Not wanting to cause uneasiness on them, he pretended to act like nothing happened.

"It's my damn leg," he cursed. "I had been driving for two hours and it suddenly cramped up."

"I see," Ezio walked towards him. "I thought something happened."

"Yeah, suddenly acting up like that," Delsin yawned and stretched.

Francis made a silly face. "Hee hee…Sorry about that. Let's not keep Sebastian's waiting. You two go ahead first while I lock the jeep."

Both strolled ahead. Francis stood by the vehicle and glared towards the woods.

"Heed my warnings," He points then turned away.

Among the dark woods were Guillermo and Belle hiding within it. They glowered at Francis as they watched him entering the farmhouse from afar.

"What is he?" Guillermo questioned himself as they vanished into the shadowy darkness cast by the woods.

 

End of Chapter 6

 


	7. Keanu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos XD

Francis, Delsin and Ezio sat on a large vintage sofa in the living room, feeling a little tense. Right in front of them was a wide brick fireplace, above it hung an exquisite painting of a mountain landscape. The floors were made of polished white marble tiles arranged in a neat pattern, white silk curtains hung from the ceilings, and a grand-looking French polishing wooden staircase at the right side with golden angel statues at both sides of the railings.

The walls on their left were made of glass partition, revealing the flower garden, fountain as well as the stables along with the horses outside.

Everything in the room was rich and lavish; the trio found themselves awed, and envious that they never had a place so luxurious.

Since they’re in such grand place, neither of them dares to touch anything including the tea set laid in front of them on an antique coffee table. Before that, Francis nearly dropped the teacup and could feel his heart in his mouth when William’s servant served it to him.

Sebastian felt they were kind of over-reacting at the same time chucklesome.

“Relax,” he said to them, “The furniture aren’t going to eat you.”

Delsin bent forward and whispered to Sebastian’s ear, “Don’t mind me asking but what kind of business does your uncle runs?”

“Winery,” Sebastian whispered back. “But he also runs beverages and food business as well as farm supplies. He started out at the age of twenty and had been on this business for forty five years.”

This info had left Delsin totally flabbergasted.

“He ran this business with his wife and my mum but…” Sebastian’s voice trailed off when he caught a glimpse of a photo frame on a table stand to his right. He reached for it and gazed at the photo.

(He still keeping this picture…)

“Your parents?” he heard a voice behind him. He turned over to see Francis behind him; one hand resting on the sofa frame while the other supporting his chin. His eyes were focused on the photo.

“Hmm yeah. But my parents and aunt passed away when I was young and my uncle raised me till I’m old enough to fend myself.”

“You never consider going into this business line?” Ezio asked.

“Nope, I don’t have my uncle’s mind-set.”

A while later, William came in to sit with them. As usual introduction always started first followed by handshakes then lastly expressed to them how grateful he was. If it weren’t for their help, he don’t know where he should start searching for his nephew.

“As long he’s safe with you, we’re content,” Delsin smiled back. It was then William decided to get serious; he needs to know what actually happened yesterday night. First he got a call from the cops in the middle of the night telling him dreadful news and now his beloved nephew is in his house unharmed.

“Please tell me what happened? The other passengers’ mysterious disappearance and how you ended up in Hillview Town?”

Sebastian doesn’t know how to explain this bizarre incident. His uncle doesn’t believe in supernatural stuffs; always sceptical about them. If he were to tell him that these entire case involves paranormal, he will definitely be dubious.

He ruffled his hair contemplating how he should begin.

“Just tell him honestly,” Francis suggested. “After all we are your witnesses.”

Sebastian took a deep breath and told his uncle the happenings from the start to the end.

* * *

 

“That’s what happened,” Sebastian said. “To keep me safe, they accompanied me.”

The entire incident seemed inconceivable to William as he listened. “So he’s after you just because of the Beacon Incident? For the passengers, you stated that he ‘devoured’ them that’s why the police can’t find them. Sounds quite far-fetched to me…”

Sebastian let out a sigh. He knows this ‘devouring’ sounds ridiculous but that’s what the doctor claimed. If only he had evidence to prove it.

“Don’t mind me being doubtful,” Francis leaned forward and elbows on his knees. “You said he’s after your psychic and you don’t know what the motive is. Yet I can’t help but sensed that you know. You’re chary of telling the whole truth,” he eyed at him. “It has a connection to the Beacon incident isn’t it?”

Sebastian became edgy and shifted a little uncomfortably.

“It’s better that you tell rather than keeping it all to yourself,” Francis said. “We want to help you with all we can.”

His uncle hold his nephew’s hand and clutched it tightly while nodding his head. He agreed with Francis.

“He wants to relive Beacon,” Sebastian reluctantly answered. “I don’t know why but…but I am not going back there. Those…I…I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Ezio cut in. “But what’s this Beacon Incident you’re talking about?”

“Beacon Mental Asylum Massacre,” Sebastian turned to him. “It happened a month ago back at my hometown, Krimson City and I was the only sole survivor but it wasn’t true. It wasn’t just only me; there’s three more but they were declared missing.”

“Is it ok if you can share with us?” Delsin politely asked.

“Juli Kidman, one of the mental patient Leslie and lastly,” Sebastian swallowed hard. “My partner and best friend; Joseph Oda. Everyone keeps telling me that he’s most likely dead. I don’t want to believe it. Till now I wished that he’s alive somewhere however I got no lead. Part of me wants to accept to the dreadful truth…” he looked away. “Anyway it’s complicated.”

William frowned; why the media didn’t stated it in the article. He had a clear recollection there were no people reported missing except deceased. Unless they want to cover up to avoid incertitude among the residents.

Sebastian even indicated that the Krimson City Police Department classified this case as highly confidential and stored it in the achieve room. They even rejected Sebastian’s request to look through.

Ezio leaned back on his seat and rubbed his eyebrow. “I hate to say but there’s another problem that Sebastian will be facing soon.”

Everyone turned their attention to the youngster.

“Well he was on that train when it happened, right?” he explained. “All the passengers vanished except him, so won’t they view him as the main suspect if they find him with Mr William?”

Francis folded his arms. He curses silently to himself as he totally forgot all about it. If they were to find and take him back; it will be extremely difficult to convince the police to believe this story and Sebastian will be held in custody. He can’t allow that to happen, leaving him in the hands of the police forces will only higher the chances of the doctor abducting him.

However this name Guillermo keeps ringing in his mind. He swore he heard that very name somewhere before but couldn’t recalls when or where. Unless he heads for a library….

(Wait…library?)

“Is there any convenience shop and library nearby?” he asked. “I did like to do some shopping and research.”

“Well there’s one nearby. It’s about 15 minutes ride from here. You can borrow my bike if you like,” William got up to show him the way to the garage. At first William offered Francis a ride there since he’s new around town. However he coaxed that William should stay by his nephew’s side to keep him accompanied. Still concerned, he passes a small map of the town as a guidance. Francis gratefully gave his thanks.

He led the bike out, triggered the engine when Ezio came and asked if he wants him to tag along. Francis quickly take a glance towards the woods; he may no longer sensed the presence but decided to take precaution. He declined Ezio’s offer but quietly instructed him to keep a lookout while he’s away and contacted him if anything crops up.

“By the way call Delsin,” Francis said. Ezio paced back to the farmhouse. It wasn’t long Delsin came strolling out.

“Yes?”

“Let’s go,” Francis motioned him to get on.

“What for?” he asked.

“Don’t you want to be cure from the poison?” Francis reminded him as he passed him the helmet. “I need to restock some herbs for our journey ahead.”

Delsin recalled that he was poisoned by the creepy doll back in the warehouse. How can he forget such a thing? He clumsily put the helmet on and sat behind Francis. They drove down the quiet lane.

“The poison inside me…Is it severe?”

“If it is, you’re probably dead by now and won’t be chatting with me unless you are a ghost.”

“Very funny.”

* * *

 

Sebastian tucked himself comfortably on the cosy queen-sized bed in his room as his uncle watches. William could see that Sebastian didn’t get a good sleep since yesterday and now deserved a good rest.

He gently sat on the bed and caressed his nephew’s hair.

“Uncle I’m not a child anymore,” Sebastian mumbled while embarrassed.

“Well to me you always were,” William smiled then followed by a long sigh. “How fast time flies. I always tucked you to bed around ten when you were a kid now you’re a full-grown man. I remembered back on Christmas I had a hard time putting Lily to bed that I had to ask Myra. How I reminisced those days.”

Sebastian just listened. Never spoke a word. The last time he came back here was with his wife Myra, their 5 year old daughter Lily and Joseph. It was like two years ago and he remembered it was a joyous day. Now he’s back here without them; his beloved daughter died in a fire, Myra and Joseph’s missing; status unknown.

He turned over to his side and covered himself in the blanket. He had a feeling that he’s going to cry but couldn’t bring himself to do so. William notices his mood change, felt regretted mentioning as it only brings back painful memories to Sebastian instead.

He tried to cheer him up by changing the topic. “Your new friends are interesting. From my experience I can tell they’re good people and I quite like them. You may not know them for a long time but they seems to care a lot for you.”

Sebastian immediately recalls how Delsin protected him back then. Back in Hillview Town.

“Yeah they were,” Sebastian closed his eyes. “Especially Delsin.”

“Delsin, the one who left with Francis?”

“Uncle?”

“Yes?”

“There’s a sense of familiarity whenever I look at him.”

William raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. I just keep having this impression that I met him before,” Sebastian slowly sat up. “Even Delsin said the same thing.”

His uncle patted him on the shoulder. “Maybe you both DO met each other. One day that very memory might surface itself to you.”

Sebastian lie back on the bed. He coughed a little.

“Have you taken your medicine?” William asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then rest well you have yet to recover,” his uncle gently kissed his nephew on his forehead before exiting the room.

* * *

 

Ezio stood on the mansion rooftop, overlooking the village below and memorizing its paths, locations etc. in his mind. He had to say that this small countryside town was a marvel; peaceful and tranquil. He liked places like this, it keeps his mind calm.

He settled down and welcomed the cooling breeze with relish.

It was then he noticed something at the corner of his eye. He spotted a suspicious looking black van further down from William’s farmhouse and there was someone standing beside it.

He crouched down, moved slowly towards the chimney and hid behind. He initiated his eagle vision to get a good perception.

A woman wearing a white shirt, denim jeans and black high heels stood by the van. Ezio couldn’t get a clear view of her eyes as she wore sunglasses to conceal them. But her hair was shoulder-length.

(Who is she?) Ezio wondered. (An associate of Mr William? Whoever she is, she seems mistrustful.)

He continues to keep a close watch to see if she does anything suspicious. If she does, he won’t hesitate to snipe her from his position since he was instructed by Francis to stay alert.

The woman never aroused anything unusual as she just continues to survey the farmhouse from a distance. From Ezio’s vision, he thought he saw a slight sorrowful expression written on her face, not sure if it is.

Then someone in the van spoke.

“Well?”

The woman spoke back, “Yeah target’s with his relative. But I highly suggested we leave him alone for now. The time has yet to come.”

There was a brief seconds of silence.

“Very well. Let’s go.”

She boarded the van but she took a quick look back at the farmhouse again before the van left the scene. Ezio observed the vehicle as it drove away. He don’t know who those people were but managed to note down the license plate.

(KC 9197…Beside that doctor, there’s others after Sebastian too?) He looked towards the village. (Guess I’ll report this to Francis and decide what to do next.)

* * *

 

Francis was checking his herb lists thoroughly.

“Juniper…checked, Devil's Claw…checked, Ginseng…checked…, Oregano checked…,” he goes on and on while Delsin waited patiently. With everything procured, he happily tucked the package into his backpack.

(Antidotes for Delsin.) He paused. (Maybe I brew some medicine drink for Sebastian as well. He seems to be down with a bad fever. I had the herbs just for it.)

“Alright, library next,” he got on the bike.

“What…library…you serious?” Delsin sounded restless.

“Bear with it,” Francis replied annoyingly. “I want to research on this Guillermo. His name keeps ringing in my mind.”

“Don’t take too long ok?” Delsin tapped his shoulder.

“Well pray for it.”

Delsin let out a short wail only to result Francis hitting him on the helmet to shut him up.

It wasn’t long before they both found themselves reaching the library building. Francis parked the bike and checked his phone; no calls nor texts. With Ezio guarding Sebastian, he had nothing to worry about since he had full confidence in Ezio’s capabilities.

They were just a few steps away from the main entrance when Delsin suddenly halt. Francis stopped alongside with him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You sense something?”

Delsin’s face lit with glee. “Looks like we’re in luck.”

Francis titled his head to the side. “You are saying…?”

The Conduit ran up the stairs. “I didn’t expect there’s one here.”

* * *

 

A young man around in his early thirties; black hair with short fringe, wore glasses, black tie and long sleeve collared shirt neatly tucked inside his black pants, busily rummaging through the boxes.

“Damn where did it go?” he picked up an old book and did a quick browse through before tossing it aside. “Nope not this one.”

He heard the bell rang and peeked through the small window on the door, he saw two visitors; one had his back facing him while the other tapping his finger at the info counter. He hastily dusted himself clean and readjusted his glasses and tie. It will be disrespectful if he presented himself scruffy. He made his way to the counter.

“How may I help you?” he asked then he instantly froze in place when Delsin turned to make eye contact with him.

“Hello,” Delsin smirked. The young man could sense a familiar wavelength signal transmitted through his brain. He immediately knew it; Conduits often conveyed it to each other to inform one’s presence.

“Nice to meet you,” Delsin stared at the young man’s name tag pinned on the shirt. “…Keanu Wallace.”

 

End of chapter 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   


 


	8. Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you so much for your kudos. Please don't hesitate to comment/critic the story as it will help me to improve my story writing :) Once again thank you much for everyone's support.

Keanu slowly took off his glasses calmly, "Well that was unexpected. Another of my Kind standing right in front of me."

Delsin was kind of delighted that even in this small countryside town, there's a Conduit living in the midst as his encounter with them were mostly in the cities.

Keanu put his glasses back on and pushed it up his nose bridge. "Don't waste your time. I'm not a fighter."

Delsin and Francis went dumbfounded; dazed by his direct strange reply.

"Pardon?"

He leered at them. "You aren't from the same gang? Last time I met them didn't turn out very pleasant, got a broken arm if you both were curious to know."

"Wait…There's a group?" Delsin asked. "Where are they now?"

Keanu furrowed his brows. "Judging from how you questioned, you both aren't from this town right?"

Both shook their heads.

He immediately expressed out an apologetic expression. "Then please accept my sincere and humble apologies. I…I jumped to conclusion. I thought you both were their accomplices."

"Don't feel bad about it," Francis waved his hand.

"So where's these Conduit hooligans you're talking about?" Delsin folded his arms across his chest. "I did like to pay them a visit."

"Well," Keanu slicked his hair back. "There's a good and bad news together; good news is they're no longer here anymore, bad news is the AUPS took them."

Delsin let both of his hands dropped to his side. "AUPS? They had gotten this far?"

Keanu shrugged. "Good thing I was on medical leave when that happened. Successfully evaded them."

"Are they still here?" Delsin asked.

"They left four days back so you're considered lucky too. Anyway how can I help?" Keanu changed the topic.

"Do you have any periodical archives stored here?" Francis asked.

"Why of course but its off-limits to everyone except head librarian. I'm sorry."

(Nuts…) Francis rubbed the back of his neck. (Of all things…)

"Can I speak to him or her? It's kind of urgent."

"Miss Pamela's outstation and will only be back in a week," Keanu replied.

Francis let his head dropped in disappointment. Keanu stared at him. From his reaction, he can possibly tell Francis's in need of an important info desperately. However the keys to the lower basements including the security codes were with Miss Pamela the head librarian. Another problematic issue was she always carries the keys with her and won't even tell her staffs the codes. All high confidential rooms must get her permission first. Unless…

"What now?" Delsin looked at Francis.

"Well there's nothing we can do. Let's go back."

They were about to leave when Keanu stopped them. "Wait."

They turned back.

"You need it by hook or by crook right? I can help," Keanu offered his assistance.

"Thanks but it's too risky," Francis declined his kind offer. "You might end up in trouble if they finds out."

Keanu smirked. "Haven't you forgotten I'm a Conduit? I can help you both gain access to the lower basements where the archives were but the limitation only half an hour. Will it be ok for you?"

"Half an hour is all I need," Francis grinned.

"Why are you helping us?" Delsin curiously asked.

"Let's just say it's a way of making it up to you both for the misunderstanding," Keanu turned towards the computer on the counter. "Give me a minute..."

They watches as he fiddled with the security programme. They peered at the binary number codes moving up and down the screen so fast that their eyes were in pain. Keanu placed his hand on the screen, the numbers froze then it began to calculate itself automatically. A pop out box appeared, and a row of 6 numbers flickering till it stops; 516 223.

He then dialled the number into a security device next to the computer. They heard an unlocking clicking sound from somewhere. The librarian then focused back on computer and did the same thing on another programme. Francis assumed it must be for the security cameras as he noticed the cameras red lights blinked a few times before turning blue.

"Ok, you can head there now," he opened the basement door for them. "Only half an hour."

"What about the cameras?" Delsin points towards it.

"Don't fret. I did some modification. You both are now invisible to it," he motioned them towards the door. "Go get what you need."

"I just don't know how to thank you Keanu," Francis looked at him. Keanu just shrugged and smiled in return.

"Just go."

***************************

Francis and Delsin found themselves busy checking through archives that were arranged in alphabet G category, hoping to find any clues or information related or involves Guillermo.

They searched high and low. Putting back the files, boxes etc. back in its original place after perusing through. They later stumble upon an old box hidden at a corner; completely covered in thick grime that they brushed it clean. They found old newspaper clippings and photos inside before pouring the entire contents out on a table. Majority were dated back in the 1900s.

Delsin randomly picked up a photo and studied it. His eyes widened and quickly yanked Francis's trench coat sleeve before showing it to him.

"Does this doll look oddly familiar to you?"

Francis took the photo from Delsin's hand and examined closely again. It was a greyscale photo of a little girl with 2 pigtails at the side of her hair, wearing an elegant dress holding a human-sized porcelain doll sitting on a bench in front of a stone craved angle statue.

After inspecting the doll, was indeed the very same one which attacked them back in Hillview Town. The doll's dress and hairstyle are the proof. There's no mistake about it.

Francis flipped the photo to see a handwritten name on it; Belle, 5 years old 1982.

"Belle?" he said softly. "Isn't that the name of that doll?" But the name was directed to the little girl.

He shuffled through the photos. He found some were of Guillermo in his youth, wife and child including a few taken in Guillermo's working place. From Francis's perspective, the doctor seems to be working on some kind of a machine shown on one of the photos though it's not very clear.

"This dude has a history you should know about," Delsin reading one of the newspaper clipping. "Not only he's a doctor but also a devoted occultist, donating money to a certain church despite the scandals and here's the big scoop; he actually went missing. There's a church photo attached to it."

Both looked; it was young Guillermo taken together with a pastor. They noticed the pastor was wearing a necklace with a strange occult symbol attached in a form of a straight line with 2 'X's at both sides.

"You just mentioned that he's a missing person? Tell me more," Francis looked at Delsin.

"Guillermo Abel, born in 1949 into a middle-class family. His parents were doctors too. He throws himself headlong into medicine and science and falls in love with it. His strength of character along with his innate talents catch the attention of many. The Academy of Science & Medicine presents him with his PhD degree on his twentieth birthday."

"Impressive," Francis did a chin rub. "Please continue."

"He married a fellow doctor named Valencia at the age of 27 and in 1977 they had their first born child. A daughter named Belle."

"So the doll had the same name as the child. But Guillermo seems like a normal guy in daily life."

"Not for long," Delsin took another clipping. "A tragic event turned his life upside down. Their daughter was murdered and her mutilated body was dumped at Elk River lakeside town outskirt of…" he trailed off. "…wait….Krimson City?"

"Isn't that Sebastian's homeland? Francis took the clipping. "Let see the year Belle was killed?" He scrutinized and saw the year 1985. "The murderer responsible for this gruesome act was never found and the case left unsolved. Valencia Abel, unable to accept their daughter's sudden death and the injustice, fell into serious state of depression and was administrated to…Beacon Mental Asylum?"

Delsin gaped upon hearing that.

Francis narrowed his eyes as he continues reading. "Valencia committed suicide a month after her administration. No last letter or will to her husband was written. 3 weeks after her funeral, Guillermo went missing and was never found."

He lowered the papers down. "He was missing for 29 years till now."

"He finally resurfaced," Delsin clapped both hands. "Let's summarize this up; Guillermo's a renowned doctor. Married and had a child who then was brutally murdered. Her body found in the outskirt of Krimson City followed by his wife being administrated to Beacon which is also at Krimson City. Both happenings occurred in Sebastian's hometown. But what does all this have to do with Sebastian? I mean he's not even involved in any of Guillermo's personal matters."

"But he's involved in the Beacon case," Francis stacked the newspaper clippings back into the box.

"Yeah I know," Delsin argued back. "Didn't he previously mentioned it's a massacre? It's unrelated to Valencia's suicide 29 years ago while this massacre happened recently. The only coincidence are the locations that's all."

"Another question remains unanswered is why Guillermo after Sebastian's psychic? Is it because he was Beacon sole survivor or Sebastian can help him to achieve something?" Francis placed the box back on the shelf.

Both never spoke a word to each other.

"Anyway that's enough findings for now," Francis checked his watch and made his way to the door. "We better don't get Keanu into trouble."

***************************

Keanu was busy doing his daily paperwork routine and listing down new arrival books when he noticed the basement opened with Francis and Delsin exiting.

"So you found what you need?" he asked curiously.

Francis smiled at him. "You had been a great help. Maybe when you're free I will treat you to coffee or so."

Keanu then passed them a card each. "Here's a library membership card. Take it as my gift to you."

"Say erm… where do you stay Keanu?" Delsin took the card, take a glance before tucking it into his jacket pocket.

Keanu drew him a quizzical look, pondering why he asked that. Since he's interested to know there's no harm in telling as both were Conduits.

"Country lane 58th, not far from here." Both were quite surprised that he lives near Mr. William's residence. They were neighbors and probably knew each other.

"You know Mr. William?"

"Of course, everyone here knows him. I'm his friend and delivered books to him sometimes."

Francis startled; meeting with Sebastian and another Conduit was indeed a fate like as if something or someone wants them to meet.

"You both know him too?" Keanu pointed at them.

"Yeah, we're currently staying at his house for a while," Francis picked up an herb book and read the contents inside.

"Tomorrow I'll be free and coming down to his place to deliver a few books," Keanu's face blushed a little with shyness. "Maybe you can…treat me coffee."

"I will be so delighted," Francis gave a gleeful look. "I can introduce you to my little brother."

"I look forward to it."

***************************

"Welcome back," Ezio opened the door to let them in.

"Anything to report?" Francis put his backpack on the table.

"Tell you later," Ezio exited the living room. "I'm lending William a hand at the gardens."

Francis carried his backpack and headed straight for the kitchen. Before he used anything of the appliances, he asked William for permission first.

"Mr. William! Is it ok if I use the kitchen to brew some medicine?"

"Go ahead! Feel free to use, my boy!" William replied.

2 hours later, Francis passed a cup of hot herbal drink to Delsin. Delsin caught the whiff of the medicine that he immediately had a wave of nausea engulfing him. He looked at the cup to observe the black brownish liquid swirling in it. He was extremely reluctant to sup it in one go. The appearance of the drink seems to be telling him it's bitter.

"If you want to be rid of that poison, you better drink it," Francis placed both hands on his waist feeling indignant. "I went through so much trouble brewing this for you."

Delsin felt bad since Francis did indeed went through trouble in gathering these ingredients just to brew an antidote for him. He took a deep breath and drank it but in seconds his expression from discomfort changed to amazement. He drank it all in one gulp and passed the cup back while licking his lips.

"Delicious!" he said.

"I added some honey in it," Francis washed the cup. "You will be back to normal tomorrow. I'm making another herbal drink for Sebastian. Sadly his isn't going to be as delicious as yours."

"What his medicine drink consists of?"

"Let see," Francis carefully placed the ingredients on the kitchen table. "Boar liver, carp liver, chicken liver, yarrow, elderberry flowers and peppermint. It's actually liver potion overall."

"Extreme yuck factor…" Delsin covered his mouth.

***************************

Sebastian was awake after sleeping for almost 4 hours. He sat on his bed, quietly reading a detective novel when he heard the door knocked 3 times.

"Come in," Sebastian said.

Francis holding a cup on a tray, came in along with Delsin.

"Hey Sebastian. Did you sleep well? How are you feeling now?" Delsin asked with concern as he sat on a chair beside the bed.

"I slept like a pig," Sebastian joked. "But my fever still the same. It's going to take quite a while for me to fully recover."

"You fell sick often?" Francis looked at him.

"Ever since I got this 'Gift', I had been falling sick frequently," Sebastian put his book away. "It seriously affecting my work and performance." He coughs a little. "When you both were out, my uncle suggested I quit my current job. Moved back to live with him and assisted in his farm factory."

"Sounds reasonable. At least Mr. William can lookout for you if anything happens," Francis supported William's point of suggestion.

"I live in a complicated and dangerous life," Sebastian pulled the quilt up to keep warm. "I don't want to drag him in. Staying with my uncle only endanger his life."

Francis carefully passed him the cup. "I made some medicine for you. Drink up while it's still hot."

Sebastian was about to take it when he, like Delsin, the moment he smelled the odor of the medicine, he covered his nose in disgust.

"It….smells."

"The smell maybe be unpleasant but it work wonders. I guarantee that you will be up on your feet tomorrow," Francis said with confidence. Sebastian took the cup and stared at the drink before looking up at Francis giving him a 'Are you sure?' look.

Francis nodded his head.

"I trust you for it," he took a sip. "It's bitter."

But he still drank it slowly. Delsin watches in horror.

(God… he's drinking a medicine made of liver!) Delsin thought to himself. Sebastian supped it all up and passed the cup back to Francis.

"Whew…" he exhaled deeply. Then he lied back down on the bed while Francis placed the tray on the bedside table.

"Sebastian there's something we need to tell you," Francis sat on the bed beside him.

"What is it?"

"It's about Guillermo. I got interested on him that I and Delsin went to the library archive to do some research. And we found out Guillermo was once a resident of Krimson City back in the 1900s. That makes it 65 years ago."

"And the shocking part is that he's actually missing for 29 years," Delsin slumped on a chair.

"He had a family too," Francis continued. "But his daughter died at the age of 8 in 1985 and his wife followed suit shortly after that then Guillermo himself suddenly went missing and was never found. I also stumbled upon some photos of his workplace; it seems he's working on some kind of a machine before his disappearances, though I can't see very clearly on what it is. Not only that I also found a photo of him along with a pastor who's wore this strange necklace."

"Strange… necklace?" Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

"Hold on I will draw it out for you," Delsin did a quick sketch before showing it to him. "It looks like this."

Sebastian's eyes widened when he sees the drawing. It's the very same church Ruvik's religious father, Ernesto Victoriano, attended to. He covered his mouth and looked away. Traumatized memories began to resurface; the mutated disfigured twins Zehn and Neun, the Sentinel dog and the twisted sacrificial ritual the church performed. Some ritual about gaining eternal life. He gasped when the image of the Keeper suddenly appeared in his mind; holding its bloody meat tenderizer and its victims' brains filled sack with deadly spikes protruding out from it.

The Keeper chased Sebastian down the corridor filled poisonous gas. He remembered getting caught in the barb wire trap the Keeper set up and being dragged away. He barely escaped from the Keeper's grasp.

Sebastian clasped his chest tightly as he respired heavily. "It's….it's not a church…." He struggled to speak. "It's a cult. Research lab beneath the cemetery. Don't let it fool you."

"Sebastian?"

Sebastian looked up to both Delsin and Francis who were worried, wondering what he was mumbling about just now.

"You ok?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah. I…I knew this symbol. It belonged to a cult in a church located uphill at the outskirt of Krimson City but the church currently now is off-limits. From my investigation, the pastor along with his followers went missing during a ceremony and was never found too," Sebastian sat back up. "To be honest with you 2, Krimson City is well-known for the mysterious disappearances of its residents. The police department where I'm working at, received countless reports of missing people; vanished into the thin air without a single trace or clue that we don't know where to start looking," he paused for a second. "My wife, Myra was a victim too."

"Oh god," Francis stunned by what he just heard.

"You're married?" Delsin got up and kneeled beside the bed. Sebastian showed him his wedding ring on his finger.

"When does this mysterious disappearance cases begin?" Delsin looked at the ring.

"Since 2012. 2 years ago," Sebastian replied.

Francis pressed his finger on his lips. "We have more to that. Ezio said he got something to tell us. Let's wait for him to come up."

***************************

Ezio came in moments later and without delay, told them what he saw this afternoon; a black van with a strange woman surveying the farmhouse and left. He showed them the license plate no. he jotted down.

"KC9197. It's a license from Krimson City," Sebastian looked at the paper. "But what it is doing here?"

"Did you managed to hear what they say?" Francis turned to Ezio.

"Not much," Ezio answered. "She was talking to an unseen person in the van about the target is with his relative then she suggested to leave him alone for now and the time has yet to come."

"Time yet to come?" Delsin repeated the last phrase. "What does she mean by that?"

"They're probably looking for the right time to take Sebastian away no doubt," Francis said.

"The woman," Sebastian clutched the quilt with both hands. "How does she look like?"

"I can't see her face thanks to the sunglasses she wore," Ezio gently scratch his cheek with his finger. "She had short hair above shoulders. Wears a white collared shirt, denim jeans and black high heels."

(Sounds like Kidman.) Sebastian thought to himself. (This will make my search easier. If it's really her, there's high hope I can know if Joseph's still alive) His mind swayed back to Guillermo. (This doctor's past had got nothing to do with me. And what does reliving Beacon help him in any way or so? All I know now is he's after me for that reason…)

He gazed out towards the window. (For Mobius it's obvious since I'm the survivor. They probably wants me to locate Ruvik…)

"Sorry guys," Delsin interrupted with both hands waving. "Let's just drop this serious conversation or discussion for the time being. I mean…" He gestured to Sebastian. "Seb's here for a long getaway and so are we. Plus Francis and me befriended a Conduit in the library today and he's coming down tomorrow for a visit. So why won't we enjoy our happy vacation together while it lasts?"

"Wait what?" Sebastian tugged Delsin's hoodie. "Conduit here? Tomorrow?"

"He's a friend of your uncle and William knows him don't worry," Francis smiled. "He's a nice person. Thanks to him, we were able to get hold of Guillermo's backstory. We will introduce him to you tomorrow when he comes."

Sebastian nodded.

"Delsin's do have a point. Let's enjoy our vacation. Play first worry later," Ezio points to a 42 inch television in front of the bed. "Care for a night movie?"

 

End of chapter 8

 


	9. Remembrance

Sebastian woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside and cool breeze breezing through the open window. He drowsily dragged himself up from bed just to be surprised to see Delsin soundly asleep beside him whilst Francis and Ezio on the couch. He rubbed his eyes and clumsily got out of bed.

"Rise and shine," He gently roused Delsin from his sweet dreams.

"Hmm already morning?" he opened his eyes sleepily, Sebastian returned a faint smile. Delsin stretched his arms and let out a yawn before getting up. He stared back at the bed and then to Sebastian.

"Sorry about that," he apologised. "I got drowsy from the movie yesterday and ended up dozing off on your bed without knowing..."

Sebastian just gave Delsin's shoulder a nudge. "Relax pal, I'm not going to scold you or anything. My bed must be a great comfort to you."

Delsin tittered. It wasn't long both Francis and Ezio aroused from their peaceful sleep.

"Morning," Francis greeted as he gently undo his hair tie to let his long hair down. His hair flowed down and swished at his waist. Sebastian watches as Francis took out a comb out from his pocket and began combing. His hair colour was unique; silver in colour and seems to have an unusual glow whenever light shines on it. From his angle, Sebastian felt Francis looked like a woman more than a man; his slender figure as well as his androgynous facial features.

… _Francis will probably killed him if he were to tell him that directly…_

"You all want to go out for breakfast?" Francis asked. "I saw a small café at downtown yesterday with Delsin. I thought of trying it out since the pancakes aroma was irresistible."

Ezio wobbly got up from the couch while blinking his eyes. His hair slightly messy and had a worn out expression on his face. "I had a strange dream," he just mumbled out. "So bizarre that I can't get a good sleep."

"What's that dream about?" Francis passes the comb to him "Mind telling?"

Ezio rubbed his temple. "It was a boy. I can't see him very clearly. The dream was foggy and he keeps repeating the same words over and over again." He combed his hair neatly before tying it up. "He was telling me to come back and wake up. I don't know what it meant but his voice sounds so familiar. I heard that voice somewhere before but couldn't remember when or where."

He tried his best to recollect his so-called lost memories when a sudden sharp throbbing pain rushed through his brain. The pain was so excruciating that he eventually lost his balance, collapsing back to the couch.

The three of them rushed to his side, helping him to get back up to his feet.

"Easy there," Francis carefully massaged Ezio's temples. "If you forcefully try to remember, you will only end up tormenting yourself."

Ezio held Francis's both hands as he gazed up to him. "I feel like I'm forgetting something very important." He lowered his head down with his eyes tightly shut, gritting his teeth to tolerate the headache he's having. He thought about the mysterious boy in his dream, his face was like a scattered jigsaw puzzle, waiting patiently to be pieced together. The voice he called out to him was filled with grief. Ezio wants to reach out and grasped the boy's hand tightly, refusing to let go. However he was always being pushed back by an invisible force that stirred him awake from that strange dream state…

His heart start pounding fast and a wave of sorrow filled over him. He felt that he and the boy shared a strong bond or connection.

A voice from nowhere suddenly spoke in his mind,

" _Do you remember our promise?"_

Ezio gasped, opened his eyes and looked up. To his shock, he saw blood tears streaming down Francis's face. He shrieked, let go and staggered backwards.

"Ezio?" Francis was taken aback by his sudden reaction. Ezio quickly rubbed his eyes with both hands before focusing back on Francis again; no blood tears on his face at all. He began to wonder if he's hallucinating.

"Geez, I didn't know a dream can cause such a stress to you," Delsin said.

"Do you want to lie down for a while?" Sebastian asked with concern.

Ezio politely waved off his offer. "I'm ok. This tends to happen to me sometimes. Don't worry,"

He glanced back at Francis. _(What was that about?)_

"You sure you don't want to rest again?" Francis seems oblivious. "You look unwell."

"I'm alright really," Ezio tried to convince them. "I mean you and Delsin seen me like this before right? It's not the first time already." He changed the topic. "Didn't you say Keanu, the librarian you met yesterday will be dropping by here in the afternoon or so?"

"Oh…yeah," Francis took his trench coat from the coat hanger stand. "I thought of dropping by the library again," he examined Ezio thoroughly. "You sure you're really doing fine? Is your headache still buzzing?"

Ezio rolled up his eyes and nodded his head. "I'm fine and hungry. Dying for the pancakes."

Knowing that he's as stubborn as mule, Francis finally give in and let him have his way. He turned to Sebastian next.

"You want to join? I mean it's unhealthy for you to keep coop up in your room all the time. You should go out for fresh air."

Sebastian thought for a while; at first he was kind of reluctant as he feared the townspeople will recognised his face from the news and made a report about his current whereabouts. He tries to avoid any attention and problems at all cost but was also desperate to go outside unless…

"I need a disguise," Sebastian pointed out.

Francis as quick as a flash, passes him a pair of glasses and a cloth cap. "I already figure out. By the way do you feel any better after taking the medicine?"

Sebastian was amazed the medicine did work wonders. His cold and cough were completely gone and more energetic rather than feeble.

"I'm actually feeling a lot better," He gave his thanks. "Are you a doctor by any chance too?"

"Nope but my father was. I just like to browse his medical books during free time."

"Then your parents?" Sebastian asked.

"Both already passed on 2 years ago. Killed in a fire."

"I'm sorry… I didn't know," he sincerely apologised.

"No worries," Francis headed for the door. "I gotten over with it."

Sebastian quietly put the disguises on while scolding himself in his mind for making Francis remembered his parents' death.

(Sebastian you stupid moron...)

Every time when someone mentioned anything related to fire, he will remembered the face of his beloved daughter, also killed in the same manner years ago. According to his missing wife, Myra, wrote to him that their daughter's death was no accidental rather murdered. Now she's missing and the murderer hadn't yet to be brought to justice. But he knew the organization, Mobius were involved in it.

Not wanting to let his friends wait, Sebastian left.

* * *

"Well that was a good breakfast," Delsin licked his lips. "I don't mind eating another round."

"Your appetite sure is scary," Sebastian handed him a napkin. "I even lost count how many hash browns you ate."

"What can I do?" Delsin shrugged. "I need food to boost up my Conduit power within me."

Sebastian raise an eyebrow.

"The library just further down. I'll introduce Keanu to you both," Francis steered the jeep towards the library direction.

As they drove closer and closer to their destination, they began to sense something was amiss. The library front entrance were completely surrounded by people, watching and whispering among themselves. Police cars and an ambulance were parked nearby. They even saw a policeman putting up police tape barricading the entire area.

Francis immediately stopped the jeep in a distance. With so much witnesses, cops and reporters gathering at one spot, he will only risked on getting Sebastian into trouble. He signalled him to lay low while he go outside to check on the happenings. At the corner of his eyes, he notices Delsin was doing a worried gesture to him.

"Wait here," Francis headed there. He carefully pushes his way through the curious crowd and stopped to observe the scene. He watches as paramedics carried out 4 body bags on a stretcher each from the library. Reporters were busy taking photo shoots and questioning the police. Francis pondered what had actually happened.

Since this is the place where Keanu was working, Francis was stricken with dread. He prayed that Keanu wasn't among the victims.

"Who could have done this?" He overheard three elderly women dressed in farmer attires, talking behind him.

"I heard from one of the cops that the suspect broke into the library yesterday night and shot the 3 librarians. Even the janitor wasn't spared."

"Not only that," another one followed up. "One of them was badly mutilated than the rest," "I heard he was burnt. It seems the murderer had a grudge on him."

"How can it be possible?!" An elderly woman with a loose low bun argued back. "He's such a quiet and nice guy. He never offended anyone. Yesterday evening he told me he met and made some new friends," she began to sob quietly. "Dear Lord, why must this tragedy have to happen to him? How are we going to tell Miss Pamela when she returns? He's like a son to her."

 _(Met and made some new friends…)_ Francis immediately felt his heart skip a beat. Unable to remain silent any longer, he swiftly turned to the trio. "Excuse me?"

They stared at him surprisingly.

"The librarian whom you all were talking about just now, what's his name?"

* * *

Delsin was pacing back and forth impatiently outside the vehicle when he spotted Francis leaving the crowd and returning to them in slow pace. He doesn't look good as he got closer and stood right in front of Delsin with his head hung low with downcast eyes. Sensing a bad news, Delsin softly spoke.

"What happened? Did you saw Keanu?"

"Four people were murdered; three librarians and a janitor. All were killed by gunshot to the head but one was badly mutilated."

An uneasy silence followed, Francis clenched both his fists tightly before looking up firmly to Delsin.

"Keanu's…dead."

Delsin stumbled a little. Both Ezio and Sebastian who were still inside the jeep, couldn't hear the conversation between the two that they exchanged confused looks to one another.

"How can that be possible?" Delsin make a clutch on Francis's shoulders. "There must be a mistake right?"

"There's no mistake at all," Francis calmed him down. "I took a quick glance on the corpses in the body bags when the paramedics and polices weren't around. The burnt corpse was confirmed to be Keanu. I recognised the silver bracelet he wore on his right hand."

Delsin narrowed his eyes. "He's wearing a bracelet?"

"Yeah, I saw it when we first met him. You probably didn't notice it," Francis said. "Let's get back inside."

Both returned to their seats with doleful looks. An air of melancholy surrounded all.

"What... happened at the library?" Sebastian asked. "Keanu's unhurt I hope?"

"Francis?" Ezio called out to him.

"He's dead," he responded. Ezio's eyes widened while Sebastian covered his mouth in shock.

"Murdered by someone," Delsin continued.

Sebastian panic. "It's him isn't it? Guillermo's doing?"

Francis shook his head. "No it's not him."

"What makes you so sure?" Ezio questioned.

"When I inspected the bodies, I didn't detect any of the doctor's 'Sight' from Keanu."

Sebastian frowned. "I'm sorry. What Sight?"

"Whenever a person dies from his last moment, he will retained the sight of the person or object which he last saw. I touched his eyes in order to 'see' it but all I saw instead is a woman shrouded in shadow killing him."

"You can read people's last memories after they die?" Sebastian asked.

"It's part of my Salem's abilities."

"Woman? Wait…could it be that woman I saw yesterday?" Ezio folded his arms across his chest. "If it's really her, then another question will be why she killed them?"

"Do you think it has something to do with you both for accessing the archive to learn about the doctor's background?" Sebastian tapped his index finger on his lap. "Didn't you uncovered some photos on the cult? The information obtained had deep connection with Ruvik's past as well as him having connection with STEM and Mobius."

"Then what about the one with the Doctor and that strange-like machine behind him?" Delsin asked. "Does that had any link with this Ruvik?"

"I don't know…" Sebastian shook his head. "I need to look at the photo before I can conclude but we could have been watch by them."

Francis conjectured that Keanu was murdered as a warning for poking their nose into others' secrets. In other words, they unknowingly caused Keanu's death. He felt a deep guilt building up in him.

"Anyway let's head back home for now," Francis started the engine. "I'm sure this news had probably reached William."

They left the scene and headed back quietly.

* * *

"I told Pamela everything. She will be arriving back here tomorrow in the afternoon," William sat with them in the living room. "I can't believe this is happening in our town."

"Uncle I heard you already made preparation for his funeral," Sebastian said.

"Yeah," William rubbed his forehead. "Pamela asked me to. Poor her, she broke into tears when she heard of his sudden passing. Such a great loss."

"Did you notify his parents?" Ezio asked.

William sighed. "Keanu's not from a happy family but rather a dysfunctional. His mother left them for another man when he was three and Keanu was badly abused by his alcoholic father during his childhood days until that good for nothing bastard died from alcohol poisoning," he took off his glasses to clean it. "Which is a good riddance as none of us here like him. Troublemaker I will say. It was Pamela who took Keanu in and raised him as her own. They were close and now he's gone..."

William rested his arms on both knees and covered his face with his hands. He don't feel like talking anymore. Ezio casted his eyes to the marble floor before turning his attention to Francis beside him, he hadn't spoken a word since they returned.

None of them spoke to each other till night falls.

* * *

Ezio found himself walking along a wooden bridge. It creaked eerily each steps he took. He felt extremely uneasy as he feared the bridge might collapsed under his weight. He therefore stopped in his track and look-see his surroundings; he don't know where he had wandered to this time but clearly knew he's back in the foggy dream world again. Shortly after he heard sound of footsteps heading towards his direction.

He assumed it was the boy he dreamt previously. He listened carefully. No… it's completely different. The footsteps sounds heavier; more like an adult than a child.

Ezio swiftly unleashed his hidden blade to defend himself from the unknown stranger emerging from the fog. To his surprise, it turned out to be Francis.

"Francis?"

He just stood there emotionlessly. Ezio peered at him and noticed he was as pale as sheet and eyes looking lifeless.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. But Francis didn't answer, just turned and ran off towards the dark forest ahead.

"Wait!" Ezio pursued after him. He was led through the dark wood. Strangely no matter how fast Ezio ran, he was unable to catch up with him. He even shouted at Francis to stop but was completely ignored.

Ezio soon stumbled upon an opening and found that Francis was nowhere to be seen. He quickly searched around for his whereabouts until he caught a glimpse of a village town further down the place he was at.

(He could be there.) He hastily made his way there and reached upon a rusty main gate. He pushed it open and entered. The village was old and run-down, built out from the 1800s period and emits out an unwelcoming presence. Ezio cautiously walked his way through hoping to find Francis as soon as possible.

The entire village was completely deserted; no sign of life or anything and engulfed in an eerie endless night. Such an uncanny other-worldly place, he began to worry for Francis's safety; pondering if he's in trouble or some sort. However during his roaming, he got this déjà vu feeling that he had been here before. He then notices a wooden board sign in the center of the village and examined it.

Written on it was:

SALEM CREEK VILLAGE

"Salem Creek…Village," he mumbled softly to himself. "Have I been…"

He suddenly caught sight of a dim glowing light heading up a stone carved stairway not far from him, leading upwards to a mansion on a hill. Ezio quickly rushed up the long stairway just to see Francis entering the main door entrance.

"Francis!" He ran for the door and flung it open. Right when he does that, he was instantly warped to another place.

He's now standing on a cliff. At the far end were 2 graves and behind it was Francis whose back was facing Ezio.

"Francis?"

Ezio slowly approached. He reached out for him as he drew closer when Francis suddenly whirled around to face him and Ezio froze in horror. Blood covering Francis's entire face and hands, staining and dyeing his blue trench coat to crimson. His eyes were white as he proceeded to seize Ezio's both arms and said to him,

"Kill me."

* * *

Ezio snapped open his eyes and got up, sweating profusely and panting. This dream he had was so different from the one he had before, it revolves around Francis this time instead of the boy but the dream seems so real that…

"Francis!" He got up from his bed and raced to Francis's room which was just next door. Despair overwhelmed him in a swift when he discovered he wasn't inside. Did the dream really came true?

"Francis? Where are you?" He cried out. He bolted down the stairway and halt when he saw a shadow of person standing near the glass partition. A man whose long silvery hair glows in the moonlight, staring at the darkness outside.

Ezio let a relived sigh. He stood next to Francis and observed outside along with him. Out of curiosity, he asked,"What are you looking at?"

"The woods," Francis points towards it. "I felt the doctor's presence nearby."

"He's here?" Ezio tensed up.

"Yeah but I placed a barrier arcane spell around the mansion so he can't get in."

"Thank goodness," Ezio felt at ease. He looked at Francis and sees nothing out of the ordinary. He wasn't sure if he should tell him about the dream; Francis covering in blood, requesting Ezio to kill him with his own bare hands. He was worried that Francis will feel discomfort if he learns about this. After some consideration, he decided to keep it to himself. Just then he was disrupted from his deep thoughts.

"Ezio…"

"Hmmm?"

Silence followed.

"Nothing. Never mind."

* * *

"…he passed on suddenly and unexpectedly in the early hours of yesterday Friday morning the date of death, I know he will be greatly missed by everyone who knew and loved him.

A light has gone out; without so much as a flicker, and all we have left; is the precious memory of how brightly it burned; and the warmth it gave us.

Let's now spend a few moments in silence and you can each remember Keanu in your own special way, and those of you that do have a religious faith might like to use this time for your own private prayer.

May the Lord embrace this kind soul in his arms, Amen," the priest spoke.

Francis and Ezio offered their silent prayers and flowers to pay their last respect to Keanu alongside with Mr William and those who knew him. Miss Pamela, a plump and short grey haired woman around her 50s, wearing black dress with a knitted shawl, wept uncontrollably as the coffin of her beloved adopted son was slowly lowered to the ground.

It was a painful sight to watch that Ezio felt tears slowly welling up his eyes. He excused himself and went to sit on a stone bench under a tree not far from the funeral; leaving them to console the deeply heart-broken Pamela.

Ezio hated this kind of scenario especially when a loved one died. Parting with them was unbearable…

Francis who was still with William, watches Ezio from the funeral spot. He knew Ezio doesn't like to linger in this kind of place so leaving him alone will be a better choice. Francis looked around when a tombstone near a cliff at a distance overlooking towards the sea, caught his attention. He then heard a faintly yet gentle bell sound echoing out to him. As if placed under some kind of spell and drawn to it, Francis began to walk slowly towards the grave.

The surroundings around Francis suddenly turned grey and everyone seems to freeze in time including trees, birds etc.; devoid of life. A surge of unknown energy swirling and glowing began to form beside the grave. Francis however shows no fear as he approached the glow and stood right in front of it. He stared silently. A figure, in a shape of a human slowly emerged from the blinding light and unexpectedly it turned out to be another Francis yet different. Rather a human it was a spirit.

His other self approaches him, slowly wrapped his arms around Francis and warmly embraced him. He whispered to his ear:

_"Do you remember now? Help him find his way back."_

* * *

Sadly Sebastian was unable to join in. All he could do was watch the funeral afar from the car with Delsin beside him. Sebastian notices that Delsin was acting uncomfortably as he keeps twiddling his thumbs and tucking his hands in pockets while emitting out a dismal mood.

He roughly could understand how Delsin feels from within since he have had been to funerals before but never seen anyone reacted like this. Out of concern, he decided to have a small chat with his young friend to keep his mind off things.

"You doing alright?"

"Hmm? Oh y…yea…yeah…" Delsin stammered. "I...I…just don't like… funerals. Brings back bad memories."

Sebastian looked away. "Yeah me too."

"Death is like a swift wind. It comes and go without warning and we could do nothing to prevent nor bring them back," Delsin leaned his back on the car and took out a pendant, attached to it was a small ivory carved-shaped Raven with its wings spread out. He gently stroke it before tucking it back to his shirt.

"I lost both parents while I was only a kid. They drove off during a heavy storm one night and never came back. Since then my older brother took care of me until…" he trailed off before continuing. "He died saving me yet I couldn't save him…"

Delsin slowly turned to Sebastian. "But I keep my promise that I'll live to the fullest," he said with a faint smile. "Though it hurts a lot." Followed by a brief silence. "I missed him."

"Why are you telling me these?" Sebastian asked.

"Well you told us yours so I guessed I'll share mine with you."

Sebastian gazed to the sky. "You know I had the same thoughts as you. It's true it hurts a lot till now I'm still clinging onto it. Who knows, maybe somewhere out there we'll find a place of belonging that we longed for again; an old friend of mine once told me that."

"You might be right," Delsin gazed up along with him.

* * *

Ezio sat at the stone bench when he notices Francis wasn't with William anymore. He stood up and looked around.

"Francis?"

He spotted Francis standing at the cliff in a distance and the images of his dream flashes back to his mind. He instantly panic and made a dash.

He ran as fast as he could, fearing that the nightmare was coming real. He grabbed Francis's shoulder the moment he reached to his side and another vision played out before his eyes;

_Ezio was holding Francis in his arms crying before letting out a wail._

" _Why? Why did you make me do this?!"_

Ezio jerked back just to see Francis staring at him emotionlessly.

"What...what are you doing here?" Ezio asked him.

"The grave…" Francis points to the tomb. Ezio kneeled down to get a better view; oddly there's no name, birth and death date written on it. An unmarked grave on a cliff but who was it?

Anxious and troubled by his dreams and visions recently, Ezio grabbed hold of Francis's hand and led him down the hill in a hurry. "Let's get back to the jeep. The sun almost set. Night will fall soon."

Francis quietly followed but he looked back towards the unmarked grave again.

"I'm… already…." He murmured as they headed back to the jeep.

* * *

Francis went straight up to his room when they returned from the funeral service. He never utter a word to either of them and whenever they speak to him, he either nodded or shook his head or said a one word answer in response. His reaction seems to have slowed.

Ezio began to worry for him. He had been like this after encountering the grave. Did the tomb triggered something unpleasant that was traumatizing to him? He tried to talk to Francis about it but the young man waved him off, indicating that he wants to be left alone for the time being.

Francis even locked his room door from the inside, not allowing anyone in. William wonders what happened to him as he was such a lively man a few days back and now he's awfully quiet and distanced after the funeral.

Both Delsin and Sebastian thought of asking him out to have supper but Ezio suggested they leave him alone as a way to respecting his choice.

* * *

Francis sat on his bed and stared at his expressionless reflection reflected on the mirror which he's holding on his hands. He gently touches his face, cast his eyes down at his hand then back to the mirror.

He got up and walked towards the window and gazed up to the night sky.

"He's waiting," he said as he closes his eyes. "Waiting for Ezio to return and so will I return to mine."

End of Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew... finally updated after so much delay.
> 
> I apologised for this chapter as I want to focus more on Ezio and my OC Francis as both played an important role in this story. There will be 2 game characters joining in later chapters.
> 
> And I re-edited this chapter again as there was some mistake here and there. Some writer I am indeed....


	10. Spirited Away

William handed Sebastian an envelope the next morning. "Here you go."

Sebastian unsealed it and took out 5 tickets. "Underwater museum? Why all of a sudden?"

"Since you're here for a vacation, I want you and your friends to enjoy and have fun. I know you all were still upset about yesterday incident but life has to go on. A friend of mine came early this morning to pass these to me."

Sebastian doesn't know if this is a good idea, he's not sure if his friends were fine with these. Besides Francis has yet to leave his room.

"I'm sure Keanu doesn't want to see you all like this," William added.

Sebastian nodded and headed back upstairs in slow steps. He entered his room and sat next to Delsin who was watching TV along with Ezio. He showed them the tickets.

"An underwater museum tickets?" Both looked.

"He want us to go there," Sebastian scratched his head. "You guys ok with these? I mean everyone seems down after what happened yesterday."

"I'm not really sure," Ezio handed the tickets back. "Not until Francis's back to his normal self."

"Yeah he's still locked up in his own room. I tried knocking on his door but no response…again," Delsin switches the TV off.

"He wasn't like this before," Sebastian turned to Ezio. "Did something happened to him back at the funeral?"

Ezio hesitated, he don't know whether if he really should tell the others including Francis about that same weird nightmare he had these two days. He dreamt about it again yesterday night. Worst still it was a continuation from the previous; like a TV series.

In the first night, Francis asked Ezio to kill him. Yesterday Ezio dreamt that he couldn't bring himself to do it and Francis attacked him, triggering the Eden in Ezio's possession to activate and killed the Salem warlord in one blast. He watches in anguish as his friend plummeted onto the ground dead. This twisted turn of event results great traumatic emotional stress in Ezio that his hair turned white in the dream.

After that Ezio woke up with tears rolling down his cheeks…

The dream was so real that it troubled Ezio a great deal and left him wondering whether he did really killed Francis in the end.

"Ezio?"

He snapped out of his troubled thoughts by Sebastian's voice.

"What's wrong? You suddenly went into a daze."

"I was? I'm sorry," Ezio placed his hand on his forehead. "Maybe I'm just tired. So many things happened."

"Yeah. I agreed on that," Delsin folded his arms across his chest.

Sebastian looked at them then to the tickets. _(Maybe it's a bad idea after all…)_ He got back up on his feet. "I'll return these back then."

"Why?" A voice suddenly spoke from behind causes Sebastian to almost jump in fright. He turned around just to see Francis standing behind him. (Since when did he came into my room?)

"Francis!" Ezio quickly got up and gave his friend a small hug. "You're finally out of your room. I was so worried."

Francis tilted his head slightly and smiled. "Sorry about yesterday. I needed some time to be alone to do some thinking. I didn't mean to shut everyone out."

"It's alright," Delsin gave Francis's back a soft pat. "We understand."

"Francis there's something I want to ask you," Ezio clenched his hands tightly as he was afraid. (What if he saw that very vision when he was at that grave yesterday? Could that the reason why he shut himself away? Or he's just being reminded of his past?)

"The grave on the cliff yesterday. Did it…" he gulped. "…show visions to you or anything?"

Francis shot Ezio a peculiar look. "What vision?" He asked confusingly. "What are you rambling about? I just only got curious on why there's a lonely grave there so I went to explore until you came. I was about to ask why you were so nervous and dragged me back to the jeep in such panic at that time?"

Ezio came up with an excuse, "I got kind of queasy back then so I just want to leave as soon as possible that's all."

Francis eyed him in suspicion, but gave it a pass as he took the tickets from Seb's hand. "I did love to go there. Would like to have a change of pace. Besides, going to an underwater museum might lighten up our glum mood."

Ezio, Sebastian and Delsin exchanged looks with one another. They had the same thought of him being another different person, they pondered if he's just pretending to be himself to keep them from worrying.

Francis noticed the queer stares they were giving him and he swayed slightly on his feet. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"Nope…" Delsin remarked. "Nothing."

Francis quickly paced behind their backs and pushed them forth towards the door. "Then let's not waste any time. Off we go."

* * *

 Ezio, Delsin and Sebastian took their usual seats in the jeep whilst Francis adjusted the rear mirror. The moment his reflection reflected to his view, he paused and stared longingly at it.

Ezio notices and stared at the mirror along with him. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, just checking my hair," They waved goodbye to William as they set off.

* * *

 "Hello Mr Puffy," Delsin tapped on the tank, poking fun of a puffer fish gaping at him; it instantly puffed up into a ball-shaped and floated away. Delsin chuckled at the sight of it; poisonous yet extremely adorable. He got the urge to pick the little being up with his hand and squeezed it.

"Leave that poor little fella alone," Sebastian felt sorry for it.

"Awww but…" Delsin watches as it swims away to a distance with its little flippers.

Ezio was astounded by the underwater natural beauty that he doesn't mind staying here the whole day till closing time. At the same time he was keeping a close watch on Francis due to the disturbing dreams he's experiencing lately. His sudden change in behaviour also troubled him.

Preoccupied in his deep thoughts, he accidentally bumped into someone, causing both to stagger. The young man dropped his sling bag and books scattered out. Ezio quickly apologised and helped out.

He happened to glimpse the books content which turned out to be urban legend folklores and some records of supernatural sightings. The young man he knocked onto was searching the ground for something desperately.

"My glasses…glasses…" he said in a nervous tone. Ezio found it beneath a bench, picked it up and passed to him.

"Thank you," he puts on and pushed it up on his nose bridge.

"Here," Ezio then handed him the books. He did a thankful gesture and stacked them neatly into his sling bag.

You're a folklorist?" Ezio asked curiously. "Your books were all folklores."

The young man looked up at him and nodded in response before focusing back on his bag again. As Ezio observed him carefully, he appears to be in his early twenties. Maybe younger or older than Delsin or himself. Plus he doesn't look very western but more Asian. Chinese? Korean? Japanese perhaps?

Ezio watches quietly as the young man took out an odd-looking equipment shaped like a small box. He took a closer look and was surprised it turns out to be a camera; antique and unique looking.

The young man checked thoroughly then to the lens before letting out a relief sigh.

"Is your camera damage?" Ezio concerning asked. "If it is, I'll compensate for the repairs."

"No it isn't. No worries," he smiled back.

"Really sorry about what just happened," Ezio apologized again.

"It's ok," the young man waved off. Without a word, Ezio offered a handshake. "Name's Ezio. Nice to meet you. You're?"

"Ren Hojo," He returned the handshake. "Nice to meet you."

"I see…a Japanese. You here for a holiday?"

"Yes," Ren beamed with pleasure. "At the same time I'm researching folklore around this area. You here for holiday too?"

"Yup. With a group of friends," Ezio turns and points to Sebastian, Delsin and Francis who were still admiring the beauty and fishes way at the back.

"That's nice," Ren tilted his head.

"You alone?" Ezio asked.

"Yeah. Anyway I have to get going. It's really nice to meet you." He bowed, bid goodbye and left.

Ren vanishes to the crowd as Ezio watches. He then returned to his friends' side and stood beside Francis.

"Saw you spoke with a guy just now," Francis said. "Who's he?"

"A Japanese Folklorist here for vacation." Ezio turned his gaze towards the direction where Ren went off to.

"A Folklorist? Interesting. It seems the chess pieces are gathering."

"Um...what are you talking about?" Ezio eyed at him.

Francis grinned. "Shall we go see the sharks?"

* * *

 Ren quickly turned to the corner where there's no one around and took out his camera. Its filament was glowing blue and humming a sound that's was only hearable to his ear.

He frowned when he was chatting with Ezio and checking the cam for damage; it began to react suddenly that resulted him to hide it back in his bag. He didn't want Ezio to see the camera's strange phenomenon.

He tightened his grip on it with a scowl on his face. He held the camera close to his eyes and viewed the crowds through the viewfinder. "You're telling me there's few here?"

He walked forth. "Then led me to them."

* * *

 "Have you both seen Francis?" Ezio walked towards them.

"Weren't you both together a few minutes back?" Delsin looked back at him.

"We were. We went to see the sharks but when I returned from the washroom, he was gone. So I thought he's back here with you guys."

Did you try contacting him?" Sebastian asked.

"I did but all I got were static sound," Panic starts to overwhelm Ezio slowly.

"Ok calm down," Sebastian said. "I'll give him a call."

He dialed Francis's number and as what Ezio said; it didn't ring but rather a loud static sound played out that Seb quickly withdrew his cell phone away from his ear.

"Ow…Delsin, try yours."

Delsin shook his head in response, indicating that he's getting the same outcome.

"Let's go look for him together. Besides Francis can take care of himself."

(Not after those dreams…) Ezio thought to himself.

* * *

 Ren was walking among the crowd when the humming sound of his camera got louder in his ears, signaling him that a spiritual energy was nearby. Without a word, the folklorist shifted his camera left, right, front and back trying to locate the source. He came to a sudden halt the moment the camera lens focused on a young man with silver-haired standing near a door at the back at the corner of the museum.

The camera filament glows even brighter and the sound got louder. Ren quickly zoomed the lens towards the man to get a good focus and took a picture.

The instant photo slipped out and Ren took a glance at it. The picture of the young man turns out to be normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Ren wonders if his camera malfunctioned or he himself made a mistake. It was then the young man in the still photograph suddenly came to life, turned his head towards Ren smiling at him and spoke,

" _Will you walk with them?"_

Ren jumped back in fright that he dropped the photo. He watches as it swished to the ground. Though frightened, he slowly approaches and scooped it up. The picture was back to its normal self however when he looked towards the young man's direction, he managed to catch a glimpse of him in time disappearing behind the door.

He rushed his way there. The word 'Basement. No entry' was written clearly across the door. Ignoring the warning sign Ren turned the knob and opened slowly. It was pitch dark inside that he turns on the camera light just to reveal a stairway leading down to darkness.

He could hear footsteps echoed at the bottom then no more. Stony silence greeted him.

(Why in the world would he go down there?) He thought to himself. The camera glowed in response. Ren sighed, "You're kidding me right? You want me to follow?"

It glows again.

"Fine. I will do what I'm told and you will do yours as well."

He was about to step in when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder causing him to whirl around to see who was it. He was expecting a security guard but to his surprise, it turned out to be Ezio instead with two others of his friends.

"Ren?"

"Ezio?"

"What are you doing?"

"Checking the basement," Ren gestured to the door. "I saw a young man went down there seconds ago. So I went to check it out."

"The young man you just saw, how does he look like?" Sebastian immediately stood forth. Ren was taken aback by the sudden questioning.

"Sorry," Ezio apologized. "This is my friend Sebastian and the one next to him is Delsin."

Delsin waved in return.

"Back to the subject, could you tell us about the young man?"

Ren just showed them the photo. "I took a shot of him before he enters."

They were startled to see it was Francis. There's no mistake; it's him all right. His unique hair color stands out but the question is why did he went to the basement all of a sudden without notifying others?

"Of all places, the basement?" Delsin had a quizzical look on his face. Sebastian pushed open the door and stared down the stairway as it gives out an eerie atmosphere whilst cold wind was blowing uo. Sebastian took a step back and swallowed hard, he noticed he had been developing phobias on certain things since his escape from Ruvik's twisted world.

Elevators, dark narrow corridors, stairways and rooms including hospitals were now his greatest fear. He can't even stand being in the dark, he will make sure every single light is on before entering.

Ezio proceeded forth without hesitation. "I'm going after him."

"You sure?" Delsin stopped him. "We don't know what's down there."

"I'm still going. You all can wait here till I return," Ezio continues. They watched on as he faded slowly into the darkness below.

"Wait up," Delsin hurried down the stairs. Ren followed next, leaving Sebastian alone up there. He hesitated for a while before deciding to go after them. There's no way he will leave them behind.

"Wait for me!"

Little did they know that the door behind them vanishes completely, leaving naught but a wall. No trace and no one around seems to be aware of the bizarre happenings around them.

* * *

The four of them reached the basement ground and analysed the map which was pinned on a notice board. The structure layout was like a maze with different corridors branches out in various directions. They could hear the echo sounds of rats scattering and water dripping somewhere. Even the light was dimly lit and greenish in color, filling the entire place in its greenish glow as well as cold breeze breezing around.

Delsin scanned around the area, he got this extremely uncanny feeling. He was also bothered by the thoughts that something was wrong with Francis. He pondered if his strange movement and disappearance had something to with Guillermo.

He walked to the front and leered at the creepy corridor right in front of him. Once they entered through, there's a possibility they might encountered something unearthly. At the corner of his eyes, he saw Sebastian wasn't himself; he had intense fear shown on his face and shivering uncontrollably. He was pacing back and forth while looking around like there's something there with them, unseen by others.

"Sebastian?"

He didn't respond. His eyes still focused on the surroundings, muttering something under his breathe.

"What's wrong pal?" Delsin grabbed hold Sebastian's hands trying to calm him down. Delsin instantly stood stock-still and he found himself in another place unknown to him.

* * *

_Delsin took out his cell phone from his pocket and turned on the flash light. He shone around and found that he's in some kind of hallway. Doors were lined up horizontally down on the right while to the left were high windows. It was raining heavily outside as he can see rain drops splattering on the window glass followed by lightning flash. He proceeded to examine one of doors and found it had a sliding peephole._

_Delsin slide the hole opened and peeped inside. Nothing, no one except an empty bed. He immediately realized that he's in an asylum. The layout and structure were definitely those of an asylum._

_But why was he here? How did he end up here?_

_He shone the flashlight towards the far end of the hallway and saw an elevator with its doors open welcoming him to step in. Without hesitation, he headed towards it._

_He was halfway down the hallway when one of the ward doors suddenly burst opened and someone came running out. Delsin jumped by the sudden sight at the same time the stranger was bolting towards his direction._

_Delsin peered at the frightened man and to his horror, it turned out to be Sebastian himself; he was running away from something or someone._

" _Sebastian," he ran to him however Sebastian didn't hear nor see Delsin instead he 'went through' him like a ghost. Delsin_ _stupefy_ _for a few seconds before turning back to see Sebastian was looking back with overwhelming fear as he tries to get away._

_Delsin was about to chase after him when a deep voice behind him shouted loudly._

" _You cannot escape!"_

_He turned back again to see an extremely tall slender man dressed in black smart suit with strange glow pursuing Sebastian. His face concealed in shadow and dark fog, making it hard for Delsin to get a good view._

" _Guillermo?" Delsin said. (No this man is different. It's not him.)_

_The tall man walked past the young Conduit and raised one of his hands, the glow which engulfed him cast hand shadows on the wall. The shadows eerily came alive and lunged for Sebastian._

_Sebastian was unable to evade the shadow hands as they seized his arms and legs, immobilizing him on the spot. He struggled violently, trying to jerk himself free from the strong grips. His captor closed in that Sebastian ended up losing his balance and fell onto the ground._

" _No! Don't come any closer!" He cried out. The man ignored his pleads and grabbed him by the arm, pulling Sebastian closer._

" _No running away," he grinned sinisterly to him._

" _Sebastian!" Delsin dashed forth with his chain whip ready. "Leave him alone!"_

_Delsin was getting closer when another figure with hood suddenly_ _materialized_ _right in front of him stopping him abruptly in his tracks. The hooded figure then stares into Delsin's eyes making him cowered in terror as the penetrating stare he gives was enough to send chill and fear down the spine._

_Delsin could see a smirk slowly formed on the figure's face. It was then that very figure removed his hood, revealing himself; a young man with pale skin with white hair._

_Though terrified by his presence, Delsin was able to speak out, "You re…?"_

" _It begins," was the man's reply._

* * *

The vision ended as Delsin let go of Sebastian's hand and stumbled backwards. He casted his eyes back down at his hands then to Sebastian who's now leaning against the wall, panting.

"What was that?" Delsin asked.

"I don't know….I don't know," Sebastian replied, wrapping his chest tightly with his arms. "I really don't know."

Delsin began to fret for him. That vision he saw was unsettling; Sebastian being pursued by this unknown entity. And that hooded man he saw at the last, who was he? Since Sebastian was psychic, he definitely possessed the strong power of clairvoyance, extrasensory perception and sixth sense.

(What if these visions he shown me could be future events that would happen?) He thought. He needed to do something for Sebastian, had to keep him safe no matter what. Whoever those two were in the vision, he's never going let them lay their hands on Sebastian.

"Hey," Delsin tried to cheer him up. "You'll be alright. Nothing's going to happen to you. I'm here at your side."

Sebastian looked to him.

"I promise," Delsin nodded his head. "I got your back. You can count on me."

" _Don't worry Seb. I got your back. You can count on me." Joseph gave Sebastian a thumb up._

(Joseph…)

Ezio sadly didn't witness the entire happenings as his back was facing them and busy memorising the map layout. He only happened to see Delsin comforting Sebastian.

"Is something the matter?" He approached both.

"Oh um…Sebastian's not feeling well," Delsin said. He dared not tell Ezio of the vision Sebastian showed him.

Ren remained quiet throughout as he observed the scene played out for him. His camera was glowing strongly at Sebastian's direction. The humming sound emitted was louder this time round that he quietly took a snapshot of Sebastian.

The photo developed and was disturbing; it shows countless of ghost faces surrounding him. Ren was sure if he should show them the photo. After a careful thought, he decided to wait for the right time.

He gazed to the direction of the corridor before turning back to check on others, seeing both were busy attending to Sebastian, Ren took this opportunity to trigger his abilities. He touched the basement wall and stroke gently, he could detect the presence of Zanei emitting from it, a form of psychic traces left behind by people. He concentrated hard and the shadow of Francis formed beside him. He watches as it walks down the corridor before making a turn to the right.

The others didn't saw as it was only visible to Ren's eyes, he made his way back to Ezio and points to the direction where the shadow headed.

"I heard soft footsteps sounds from that direction," Ren said.

"You sure you want to tag along?" Ezio asked.

"Yeah…Besides I saw him went down here. I don't mind lending a helping hand."

"Thanks."

* * *

They searched high and low, even checked every single rooms they stumbled upon but still no sight of Francis anywhere.

Ren doesn't know where he went wrong. Using his gifts discreetly, he did saw Francis's shadow and secretly led Ezio and the others to it. The search was made easier as Ezio memorized the entire layout but where could Francis be? The basement was almost completely searched thoroughly.

Francis can't possibly made his way back to the exit. If he was, they will bound to bump into one another.

Ezio was anxious. He should have had kept a close watch on him and never left his side. He cursed at his own stupidity for leaving for the washroom in the first place when they were at the Shark Section, only to return to find him gone.

"Let's head back," Ezio said.

"Yeah…"

Delsin and Sebastian made their leave first. Ezio was about to follow when he noticed Ren keeps staring at a wall at the far end. He stood beside him and looked to the direction of where he's gazing at.

"Is there something?"

"That wall," Ren points. "There's something odd about it…" In his sight, he saw a dim blue glow swirling and his camera filament was reacting to its response. But to Ezio, he saw nothing. Ren slowly lifted the camera to his eyes and viewed through the viewfinder. It shows differently; rather than wall it shows a rusty metal door on it.

"A door," he said.

"Door?" Ezio raised an eyebrow. "I don't see any."

"You will now," He took a shot. Ezio watches bewilderedly as the metal door which Ren saw through the camera slowly appears.

"…how in the world…" Ezio walked slowly to it and turned back to face Ren.

"My camera can see and detect things that can't be seen by our naked eyes," Ren touches the door. "He might have went through here that's why we can't find him."

"But how did you know there's a door here? Ezio asked.

"I didn't know until my cam told me," Ren explained. Ezio cautiously opens it, a loud squeaking sound squeaked out. He looked inside and see another long passageway leading to nowhere. But the appearance was way different; it was cleaner and the lights were brighter and bluish instead of greenish.

(Did Francis really went through here?) He was sceptical, he wasn't sure if he should continue through. He threw Ren an unsure look then both Delsin and Sebastian returned again.

"Hey guys," Sebastian spoke out. "Let's go back to…the…." His voice trailed off. He points. "Was there a door here in the first place?"

"Ren found it," Ezio replied. "But…"

"We should check it out," Ren suggested.

"I'm not sure if we should," Ezio was still doubtful.

"What about Francis..?"

"I know Ren. I'm fret for his safety but this is just unexpected."

"We won't know unless we venture. I know this is too sudden but I guessed we have had no choice. I'll scout ahead first if it's safe, I will use my camera flash to signal you all."

He was about to head on when Ezio pulled him back. "No I'll go with you. I won't forgive myself if anything happens to you." He turned to Delsin. "You stay here with Seb. We will go ahead first, will signal you both if the coast is clear."

"Be careful," Delsin nodded.

Ren and Ezio walks down the passageway while both watches them from the doorway. Sebastian gripped Delsin's jacket sleeve tightly. Delsin gently placed his hand over to Seb's trembling hand to ease him.

"Ren?"

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Are you an 'Edener' or 'Conduit'? Ezio asked.

"Why do you ask about that all of a sudden?"

"Just want to know more about you."

"I'll tell you about it when time comes," Ren looked at him. "I'm sorry, it's just that I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Understandable."

They found nothing peculiar nor sensed anything amiss. Ren uses the camera flash to signal to Delsin and Sebastian. The four regrouped, resumed their search when a loud slamming sound was heard. They saw the door which they went through minutes ago was gone.

"What the!?" Ezio exclaimed.

The lights starts to turn off one by one, in split seconds they were engulfed in complete darkness.

"Damn!" Ren cursed when his camera slipped from his hands due to sudden occurrence.

Sebastian shrieked and Delsin immediately grabbed hold of his hand. Though they can't see each other but they still can feel each other presence. Delsin clasped Sebastian's hand tightly and Sebastian did the same.

"Don't let go," Delsin said to him.

Ren found himself fumbling in the dark for his cam. He was relieved the moment he felt its structure. As soon as he picked it up, Ezio yelled.

"Ezio?!"

The lights again went back on and the three of them found themselves fixated on the spot, staring at an empty space where Ezio once was.

"He's…gone."

End of Chapter 10


	11. Acceptance

 “What the hell just happened?” Delsin couldn’t believe this is happening. First was Francis now Ezio. He stared blankly at the spot where Ezio once was, he began to suspect that this could be indeed the Doctor’s doing after all. Since Guillermo’s main target was Sebastian, he probably made use of this cunning tactic by kidnapping both his friends forcing Sebastian to give himself in exchange for their safety.

He clenched his fists in anger. If that old bastard hurts them, he will made him pay back double. Sebastian just stood there, didn’t know what to do; he felt everything were entirely his fault. If he hadn’t ask them to go to the underwater museum, all of this won’t have happened.

Ren kneeled down, touched the spot where Ezio stood and focused his spiritual energy onto it but he got nothing in response. He couldn’t detect any Zanei presence so his Kagemi ability was unable to activate. He resorted in using his camera as the alternative, he focused again but he still got the same aftermath.

It was like Ezio completely vanished into the thin air or doesn’t exist.

“Ren you manage to find anything?” Sebastian asked.

Ren shook his head in disappointment. “I’m sorry. I got nothing. Ezio’s gone.”

“Not only he’s gone. Francis too and so is the door,” Delsin points to wall where the metal door once was. “We are trapped.”

Ren looked behind to see the corridor still stretches on. Looks like the only choice they got right now was to traverse forward wherever this passage will led them to.

He turns to Delsin with his thumb pointing back, “We might have to go on. We’ll think about what we should do next once we get out safely.”

“But we can’t leave them behind,” Delsin was unwilling.

“Ren do have a point,” Sebastian said. “It won’t do us any good if we keep staying here. Let’s get of here first then we’ll planned on our next move.”

Delsin’s downcast eyes signified his distress. He worried for both safety and they don’t even have a clue of where they are now. Guessed he had to stick with Ren’s and Sebastian’s decision for the time being. He went ahead and turns to them.

“Let’s go then.”

* * *

 

Ezio woke up and found himself resting on a tree, his head was throbbing in pain and his vision blurry. He heavily pushed himself up from sitting to stand position by using the tree as support. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes continuously till the headache and blurriness slowly fades off.

(Where am I? How long was I out?)

Once pain subsided, Ezio looked around to see where he is. His hands fell heavily to his side and tottered backwards the moment his eyes caught sight of a particular wording written on a signboard:

“SALEM CREEK VILLAGE”

“No…” Ezio said. He looked back to his surroundings. The entire place were exactly the same as his dream. Worn-down village built out from the 1800s period and the stone stairway that leads up to the mansion on the hill.

He’s back. Back in Francis’s homeland. Though Francis stated he was born and raised in Springfield but his real homeland was here, in Salem as that’s where his mother Aurora was originated from.

Ezio pinched himself on his cheek to check if he’s hallucinating. He could feel a sight pain so he wasn’t at all.

He slowly trod towards the stairway and gazed up, he knows that if he followed the specified steps he did in the dream, he will find Francis awaiting for his predestined fate. Ezio didn’t want it, he couldn’t bring himself to do such unforgiveable act to his best friend.

Since it was unavoidable, Ezio had no choice but to confront it. He walked up the stairs towards the mansion. Just as he reached the top, he spotted a torn note on the ground, he scooped it up and read silently. The note somehow turns out to be an old article talking about a computer space flight simulator featuring first-person visual exploration of an imaginary galaxy.

Majority of the wordings including the headlines were smudged and smeared making it extremely hard to decipher but the more he continues the more he felt he have had read this before. His eyes narrowed, he remembered something and it was beginning to surface slowly though the memories were fuzzy…

_Ezio sat with a young teen in a garden, the teen then showed him the very same old article and points to the headline._

_“It’s kind of stupid right? They used my name to name a simulator.”_

_Ezio reads then patted the boy’s head. “Well I think it’s cool. After all you’re a computer nerd.”_

_The boy giggled in return._

The jolted memories caused Ezio to go blank for second, a strange wind blew by and the article slipped from his hand. He watches as it drifted away with the wind and it was gone.

“Who was that boy? Why did he keeps appearing?” he asked himself. He heard something squeaked, turned his head towards that direction just to see the double doors of the mansion opened slowly, summoning him inside.

He reluctantly steps in, a bright light instantly blinded his sight that Ezio had to cover his eyes. The light fades away and he lowered his hands down. Ezio found himself standing on the cliff. He looked straight ahead and there it was; the tombstones but something was not right. In his dreams there were two now there’s three.

He paced his way there and examined. There were names engraved on it; Francis’s mother, Aurora father, Nicholas and...

Ezio’s legs gave out and fell on the ground, his eyes still fixated in the tombstones.

“How can this be….Why is his name here?”

“Ezio...”

He looked up and saw Francis looking down at him. “Fr…Francis…how? I don’t understand.”

Francis kneeled down next to him. “You don’t remember do you?”

Ezio shook his head. “Tell me this is a big joke, Francis….please…tell me this isn’t real.”

Francis got up and walked to the tombstone, quietly placed his hand on it whilst his back facing Ezio, “I didn’t want it to be real too but fate is cruel. How I wish I had the power to turn back time to rewrite it but I guessed it’s already too late as I’m already…”

He turned back to Ezio, “…as I’m already dead for a year.”

Ezio felt his heart skipped, the nightmare was real. He stepped away from Francis with fear and confusion in his eyes. He couldn’t remember when he did such act and why he kill him

“But you were with me all this time, travelling together along with Delsin. Went around to different places to search for the pieces of Eden. We were even hunted by the Abstergo because of our abilities and being the last of them... Now you’re telling you were dead?!”

“Ezio…you repressed your memories because of me. I am who travels with you all this time till now was only the manifestation of your guilt you feel. The real me was already gone.”

Francis who was like a brotherly figure to Ezio, stepped forth and gently cupped Ezio’s face in both hands and placed his forehead onto his.

“You need to let go. Let go of your guilt manifestation constructed from your subconscious. The reason why I am able to stay as myself was due to the strong memories of you, the manifestor had for me.”

“Francis?”

“Do you remember back at Keanu’s funeral? You saw me staring at the grave in these similar scenario, it was this very moment I actually recalled who I am. The ghost of my former self reminded me.”

Ezio was shocked, “So you did saw something back then. Why did you lie to me?”

“I’m sorry,” Francis apologized. “I didn’t want Sebastian and Delsin to know about this. However I shall now reveal the truth to you. It’s time for your repressed memory to be released.”

Francis proceed to cover Ezio’s eyes.

* * *

 

Delsin, Ren and Sebastian came upon a single elevator at the end of the passageway. The three of them exchanged gaze with one another as the location of the lift here seems out of place like it’s there all along awaiting for their arrival.

Turning back was pointless since the door’s gone and the passageway they were in was a straightforward route with no other options available for them. Now an elevator out of nowhere is waiting for them to get in that they don’t even know if they should just closed one eye and proceeded or lingered around here till help comes.

Well…getting help in this unusual place was definitely impossible since it wasn’t part of the museum layout. It doesn’t even exist in other words, Sebastian, Ren and Delsin were trapped in an alternate dimension.

“So we go in?” Ren asked.

“Like we have got any other choice…” Delsin sighed. He turned towards Sebastian, “You doing alright?”

“Yeah,” Sebastian said though he’s scared to the core. “I’m doing fine. Let us go.”

Sensing he was trying to hide his fear, Delsin offered him his hand. Sebastian looked at him, puzzled.

“You don’t have to keep everything to yourself. Didn’t I say that I will be here for you?” Delsin reminded Sebastian of what he said back at the basement previously. “I’m not going back on my words. It’s a promise.”

Sebastian smiled and hold Delsin’s hand tightly. “I will remember that. Thank you.”

Delsin blushes a little and quickly looked away when he notices Ren was giving both of them an odd stare.

“Don’t… get the wrong idea…” Delsin panic.

“I didn’t say anything,” Ren adjusted his glasses. Sebastian snickered in return.

The three of them entered the lift just to find yet another single button only indicated a ‘B3’ available for them. With no other buttons to select, Delsin pressed it. The doors closes on them and they silently waited as the sound of the elevator hummed and carries them downward.

* * *

 

The moment Francis instructed Ezio to open his eyes, he immediately felt cold chill behind his back, he looked and saw a ghost version of himself supporting Francis by the arm and waist went through him.

He was stunned for a second before turning back to see the whole event replayed for him. He came to a realization that he’s actually watching the past of his repressed memories fragment which traumatized him so much that he just wants to forget it all.

_Ezio carefully laid his friend on the field. “Francis!”_

_Francis was critically wounded. He was coughing out blood, staining his clothes and the field crimson. “Damn Malcom…” Francis said. “I didn’t expect he will inflicted this curse on me. I was careless…”_

_Ezio was terribly disturbed by the_ _deteriorating_ _condition of his friend. “I’ll go get help!”_

_He was about to get up when Francis seized him by his arm, stopping him. “No… no…it’s too late. The curse had penetrated too deep. Death is the only way...”_

_Ezio_ _dumbstruck by what he said, fell on his knees and gripped Francis’s trench coat collar with both hands. “What are you babbling about?! This is no time for this kind of remarks!”_

_Francis smiled weakly and shook his head. “Malcom had doomed me. It cannot be removed nor will I be saved.”_

_He reached out and touched Ezio on the cheek. “Only you can end my pain.”_

_“There has to be a way to save you from this,” Ezio refuses to believe what he’s hearing. “You’re going to be alright.”_

_Francis coughed blood again but was serious this time. The curse was killing and eating him slowly from the inside, his breathing getting difficult and soon was gasping for air._

_“Ezio…please…”_

_“I can’t,” Ezio’s voice was cracking up. Tears filling his eyes. “Don’t make me do this.”_

_Francis with his last ounce of strength gave his friend one final hug, “Whatever happens, I will always be watching over you,” he whispered to Ezio’s ear. “Do it.”_

_Ezio closes his eyes, triggered his hidden blade and stabbed him by the neck silently. He withdrew the blade and looked at Francis in the eyes for the last final moment. Ezio could see the life in his friend slowly dying out. Francis gave Ezio one final smile before death finally embraced him._

_“Thank you,” was his last words. He closes his eyes and spoke no more nor will he ever wake up ever again._

_Ezio buried Francis along with his parents at the edge of the cliff. He stared at his blood-stained hidden blade and the dirtied mud stains on his hands with downcast eyes, the memory of him killing and burying his own friend etched so deep in his heart and mind. The traumatic emotional stress of killing Francis causes his hair to turn white overnight._

The vision disappeared, leaving Ezio standing there staring at nothingness. Ezio gently loosened his hair tie to let his hair down. As his hair swished across his face, he found that his hair had indeed turned white…

“That’s right…it happened a year ago,” Ezio said. “Right after the Salem incident, it did happen. You were dying from the curse which Malcom, your own biological grandfather cast on you when you refuses to give up your body as a vessel to him.”

He turned towards Francis.

“Malcolm wanted to be young again. In order to transfer his soul to a new body, he needs another Salem Warlord who carries his bloodline and it was you.”

Francis placed both hands on Ezio’s shoulders. “That’s right. That’s where my life ends and yours started anew.”

“Francis…I…”

“You should return to where you belong now. You have had to return to your real body, your little friend is waiting for you.”

“My real body?” Ezio recalls again. “That’s right. A few weeks after your death, the Templars found me and bought me back to Abstergo.”

The image of the boy came to his mind.

“I befriended him during my captivity then I fell into a coma. It’s all coming back to me now, I fully understand why I keep having those visions and nightmare was because…”

He looked up to Francis. “Because you want me to let go of the guilt.”

“Ever since my death,” Francis explained. “You had been blaming yourself. When you fell into a deep slumber, you unconsciously split your soul into half. Half escaped Abstergo while the other left behind to keep your physical body alive. Another reason why you keeps having those reoccurring nightmares was because your other soul calls for you.”

“Francis,” Ezio hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Francis hugged him back. “Why are you apologizing? You never done anything wrong.”

“But I don’t want you to go. I want to stay on like this. Like the good old days, together with Delsin and Sebastian.”

Francis returned him a sad look. “I wanted to but I can no longer be with you anymore. I had to return to where I rightfully belong. You will be alright, Ezio. You were never alone.”

Francis passes Ezio his treasured pocket watch. “I want you to have my spirit item so you always remember me.”

The moment Ezio accepted it, a strong wind blew against him. The wind so strong that Ezio unable to hold on, lost his footing and found himself drifting further and further away from Francis.

“Francis!!” he cried out.

“Live on with your life my friend,” Francis waved his final goodbye to him. “I’ll miss you.”

_“Farewell….”_

* * *

 

In a distant, Ezio could hear a loud beeping sound nearby. He slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a white ceiling above him. He looked around to find that he was in a med lab surrounded by medical equipment and life support tube and wires inserted into his body. The beeping sound he just heard was actually the heart rate monitor.

He then noticed the boy with his back facing him, sitting nearby doing some programming or coding on a computer.

Ezio made a slight cough that caught his attention. He watches from his bed as the familiar figure got up from his workstation and paced to his bed side, looking down at him.

“E…Ezio?”

Ezio immediately clasped the boy’s hand tightly in his and gave a small smirk.

“I’m back…Noctis.”

* * *

 

The lift door opens. Delsin, Sebastian and Ren cautiously stepped out. To their surprise, they found themselves in a car park.

“Wait a minute…Isn’t this car park basement of the museum?” Delsin said. “Does that mean we’re back to the real world?”

“I think we are,” Ren looked around. “We are back. That went well and…” He trailed off when a dark corner not far from them caught his attention. An unknown force lures him towards it as he unknowingly wanders away from both Delsin and Sebastian.

Sebastian felt something wasn’t right. Though they’re back safely, the entire car park was completely empty. There were no vehicles at sight and it was too awfully quiet.

He frowned. “Let’s head back to the jeep.”

“Yeah good idea,” Delsin agreed when he notices Ren wasn’t with them. “Hey where’s Ren?”

“Ren?”

Both of them searched for him and spotted Ren disappearing behind a corner.

“Ren!!” Sebastian called out as they quickly ran towards the direction he walked to. They turned round the corner and stopped to see Ren staring into the dark without moving.

“Ren?” Sebastian reached out and touched him by the shoulder. Ren immediately turned to look at him.

“Did you sense him?” He asked.

“Huh?”

“Francis. I sensed his presence awhile back ago and he’s gone again. But there’s this overwhelming sadness washed over me.” He clutched his chest. “Like he’s not coming back anymore.”

“Ren…”

“You had the ability to sense it Sebastian, but you suppressed them due to your fear. To be honest, yours surpass mine. You have to accept them if you want to protect your friends and yourself.”

“How…how did you know all this?”

“I can read people’s feelings the moment they touched me. I’m sorry I didn’t meant to read yours.”

Right at this moment Sebastian felt a heavy spiritual pressure pressing against his entire body, making him to bend down slightly. He later heard high pitched siren sound ringing in his ears that he groaned in pain and fell on his knees.

“Sebastian!” Delsin quickly helped him up.

Sebastian pressed his head hard. He looked at Ren and recalls what he just said. He took a deep breath and concentrated. He could sense it; an incoming danger approaching. And that danger was coming from behind Ren.

“Look out!” He shouted.

Before Ren could react, shadows shaped like vines suddenly shot up from the ground, entangled him that he let out a yelp. The vines tightened around him and lifted him off the ground.

“Ren!” Delsin got his chain whip, he was about to strike the shadow vines when Sebastian stopped him by grabbing his arm.

“Don’t! You might end up hurting him.”

“But…”

Ren struggled for a few seconds when a hand grasped his right shoulder. He stopped and looked behind.

Sebastian froze in horror.

“You!” He shouted. Delsin scowled.

Guillermo made his appearance.

“Oh my, you sensed me,” he said then looked at Ren. “I see you found another friend.” Guillermo studied Ren that Ren immediately turned his head away to avoid eye contact. “I have to say this is an astounding finding.”

He grinned at Sebastian. “Looks like I have two targets now. Well that will make the game more fun.”

Sebastian gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. “You leave him alone. He got nothing to do with this. ”

“I’m afraid I can’t oblige,” Guillermo tapped his walking stick. “Letting one who possessed the same power as you though…” he glared at Ren again. “…weak to go will be such a waste. Having two instead of one will increased the success rate.”

“No I won’t let you!” Sebastian shouted.

Unable to take it anymore, Delsin attacks the doctor. “I had enough of your scheme! Let Ren go now!”

* * *

 

Ezio felt a sharp pain on both eyes that his golden eagle eyes glowed.

(Seb, Delsin, Ren!)

He immediately got into a sitting position and starts pulling off the wires and tubes attached to his body, ignoring the excruciating pain as he tears himself free while gritting his teeth. But he was glad once he was finally out of it, he never liked it anyway. It makes him feel constricted.

However the moment he does that, a red alert alarm ringed out. Filling the entire med lab in its red glow.

A robotic female voice called out, “Red Alert! Red Alert! All Abstergo Med units report to med lab. All Abstergo Med units report to med lab.”

Ezio cursed under his breath. Noctis watches in silence as he sluggishly got out from the bed and headed for a nearby locker. Ezio buttoned his white shirt neatly and took out a black trench coat including boots and puts them on.

He then glared at the electronic locked door as he could already hear the sounds of running and stomping footsteps drawing closer to the lab where both of them were confined in.

Ezio gestured Noctis to come to his side. As he looked up to Ezio, he wonders what plan he had in mind.

Ezio looked down to him, “Can you use your Crystal magic to teleport us out of here?”

Noctis blinked. “Eh?”

“We are getting out of here. Don’t worry I will assist you, you won’t be doing this alone.”

“But where were we be going?” Noctis asked.

Ezio looked out to the window. “We are heading to where my friends are. They need me and I’m coming for them.”

 

End of Chapter 11

 

 

 


	12. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay. Extremely busy with life and work

Chapter 12: Reunited

* * *

 

Delsin dashed forth, leaped up, engulfed one of his legs with his Smoke Power and did a flying round house kick straight to Guillermo's face. However the doctor with his quick reflexes blocked the kick using his walking stick.

Delsin glowered however he managed to create an opening for another counterattack. He lifted up both legs to stomp against the stick, using it as a leverage, Delsin performed a backflip and fired a fireball at the shadow vines that were holding Ren captive.

Freed from his restraint, he fell to the ground. Sebastian rushed forth, grabbed Ren by the arm and pulled him away to safety. Sebastian then touches an emergency fire hose cabinet beside him, its door swung opened, hose shot out and coiled around Guillermo like a snake, immobilizing him on the spot.

But Sebastian knew this won't hold him for long. Delsin with his quick thinking, stepped back and absorbed the light power from the fluorescent lamps above them. Once he gathered enough, he hurled it towards Guillermo. The light beams slithered like snakes and envelop the doctor in its confining glow, adding more restraint.

"Let's go!" Sebastian led them up the stairs to B2. They needed to get to B1 as their jeep was parked there at the same time they didn't want to involve innocent bystanders at the museum in their fight. They had to get out of here as soon as possible though it's gut-wrenching to abandon both Ezio and Francis behind wherever they are.

Guillermo trapped in his small confinement, watches silently as they made their getaway. Shaking his head in disappointment and letting out a short sigh, tapped his walking stick onto the ground three times. The hose instantly loosen its grip around him and lights dissipated.

"Such child's play," Guillermo adjusted his coat and dusted himself clean. "When will they ever learn?"

Sebastian, Delsin and Ren ran up the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them. Luckily Sebastian knew the jeep's exact parking spot so locating it was swift. But…

"I don't have the keys!" Delsin suddenly remembered. "It's with Ezio! Damn it!"

Sebastian was calm, "Need not to worry. We actually don't need it at all."

He placed his hand on the glass panel of the jeep door, they watches as Sebastian uses his psychic to unlatch the lock inside, releasing it.

"Hurry!" He uses his power again on the starter to get the vehicle roaring to life, stomped hard on the accelerator bringing it to full speed. Delsin and Ren hold onto the grab handles as Sebastian sped the jeep down towards the exit.

As they drew close, they saw Guillermo already standing there.

"Sebastian!" Ren shouted. However Sebastian had no intention of slowing down. Since this annoying old doctor is immortal and indestructible, running him down means nothing.

"Hold on tight!" He promptly switched gear and stepped on the accelerator hard. The jeep zoomed towards Guillermo in full speed and he just stood there with both hands on his stick without flinch as the vehicle got closer and closer.

Delsin who was on the passenger seat beside Sebastian covered his eyes, not wanting to witness the entire knock down with his own eyes and so do Ren at the backseat. However the jeep instead just 'went through' him. Both Delsin and Ren swore they could feel the cold chill ran through their veins that they recoiled in response.

Sebastian glared back and saw the doctor grinning back at him as the vehicle got further and further away. He focused his attention back on the road ahead as he drove down the street without stopping.

"Seb…c…can…can you slow down?" Delsin quivered. His lips and eyebrow twitching and face was completely white as a sheet. Sebastian looked at him then to Ren who was cringing with terror.

He slowed the jeep down to its normal speed and proceeded to park it at the side of the road. They need to calm down; Sebastian leaned back on the driver seat with his hands still on the steering wheel. He closes his eyes and respired deeply, his heart palpitating nervously.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before opening his eyes. He checked on Delsin. He was leaning on the side window with his head resting on his hand while Ren's head hung low and sweating profusely.

"You both ok?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm feeling nauseous and my breathing getting heavy," Delsin replied weakly. "It's like my energy completely sapped."

"Same here…" Ren taking off his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiringly. "It seems the doctor's miasma had a strong negative affliction."

"Miasma?"

"It's a term which I called it," Ren opens his sling bag. "It tends to lower a person's psyche and will power to its lowest point. If we don't do anything about it, victims will start to hallucinate, go insane, worst had suicide thoughts or attracted those 'Things'."

Sebastian was frantic with worry since he's the only one who wasn't affected by it.

"We will be fine," Ren reassured him. "I can heal us both. But I better do it on Delsin first since he had no spiritual energy and highly susceptible to these attacks," He gestured Delsin to hold out both his hands. He did what he was told to and Ren proceed to hold them in his.

Ren closes his eyes, Sebastian could heard him mutter something. When he listened carefully, he realized Ren was meditating in some foreign languages that he don't understand but he continues to watch in silence as he heals Delsin in the process.

Strangely Delsin detected a soothing energy slipping into his hands then to his entire body. He could feel the heavy weight of the miasma slowly lifted from him, he felt lighter and his energy returning. Within a few minutes, he was back to his normal stats.

Ren released and fell back to his seat, panting. Delsin stared at both hands then to Ren with a quizzical look on his face.

"You have healing powers?"

Ren just smirked in return. "More of purify to be precise."

"Are you alright? You seem awfully worn out," Sebastian said.

"And you're still affected," Delsin looked at him with concern.

"Oh don't worry about me. My body can purify the miasma by itself. However I tend to be like this every time I perform purification on others. It requires a lot of inner energy and concentration that's why it's extremely tiring. Fret not, a short rest and I'll be fine."

Both let out a relief sigh.

"Now we're out of danger," Delsin folded his arms. "What are we going to do now? Ezio and Francis still missing."

"We'll head back to my uncle's house first and think about it. But do me a favour if he asks about both, tell him they went off to other places for shopping or whatsoever we can come up with. I don't want to worry him."

They nodded. Sebastian then resumed his drive back to Hill Lake Point.

* * *

 

Ezio and Noctis withdrew back the moment the med lab door opens. Scientists, agents and security guards came swarming in, surrounding them blocking off their escape route.

They aimed their weapons at both dangerously while the scientists stood at safe range. Ezio scowled while keeping Noctis behind him, the boy clutched tightly at Ezio's coat sleeve and shivered slightly. The sight of firearms terrified him.

"Ezio…" he whispered.

"It's ok," He consoles him. "They won't hurt us."

A tall well-built scientist boldly stepped to the front, adjusting his glasses while clapping his hand in a slow and sarcastic manner.

"Well well," he beamed with pleasure. "What a pleasant surprise. The assassin is finally awake from his six months slumber." He scrutinized Ezio from head to toe closely with one hand behind his back while the other rubbing his chin. Ezio scorned at his way of observation.

The scientist then turned his gaze towards Noctis. The teen quickly hid behind Ezio's back, not wanting to look directly into that man's eyes.

(He's afraid of him.) Ezio thought to himself. He turned round and wrapped his arms around Noctis protectively, his golden eyes still fixated on the scientist, sending him a warning if he dares to lay a finger on his friend.

"Who are you?" Ezio probed.

The scientist sauntered backward and bowed to Ezio. "How rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. Name's Simon Winters. It is an honour to meet you, the last of the Hybrid Assassin. The only one who carries the high concentration of the Ancient Ones' DNA."

Ezio frowned.

"Simon Winters huh? No wonder the room feels so cold all of a sudden," he mocked at him.

"You do have a dry sense of humour Assassin," Simon doesn't seems to bother about the derisive remarks. "However this is indeed rejoice day. She will be so pleased to learn about your awakening. You do know how pressurize we were when you were in a coma, every week she will enquired about your status 24/7."

"Is that so?" Ezio doesn't look very pleased. "More like she's yearning for me to participate in her sickening experiments."

"Ah yes," Simon tapped both his index fingers together. "I DO still remember that very day you went berserk and massacred many of the Abstergo staffs. I had to admit I lost some of my most talented assistants back then."

Ezio immediately stiffened and clenched his fists as he struggles to hold back his anger. That horrifying and repulsive image of him completely bathed in crimson blood. Lying around him were countless of lifeless, mangled, mutilated and disfigured bodies piling up on one another as a frenzied Ezio laughed hysterically.

It was that very woman who anesthetized him and also the same day he fell into a coma and unknowingly split his soul into half to escape the torment but by doing he causes more suffering to Noctis. Ezio left the teen all alone by himself while he slept.

"Anyway," Simon turned his back towards him. "Since you're awake now, we can proceed with the usual procedure."

(Usual procedure.) Ezio felt his blood boiling, lowered his head and tightened his grip on Noctis's arms.

"Ezio?" Noctis gently shook him.

"Enough…I'm not a thing…"

"Pardon?" Simon raised an eyebrow.

"We…are…not…THINGS!" Ezio repeated himself but loud for everyone to hear. His Eden powers triggered; a golden light surrounds him and golden-like threads spreads out like deadly serpents. Ezio gathered his strength and blasted a bright light blinding the other agents, guards and scientists causing them to go into panic-stricken state.

The golden threads then slithered towards the crowd and entered their minds. Some of the guards and agents froze for a while before starting to shout in delirium. All of a sudden they began to aim their guns at each other direction and gunning both sides down. Blood splattered, spilled and bullets flying everywhere. Some unlucky scientists got caught in their crossfire and were gunned down. Cries and screams of agony echoed down the hallways as survivors crawled out of the med lab and ran down the hallway with blood stains seeking help.

Noctis covered his ears and eyes as he cowered. Not wanting to let Noctis to see such sight, Ezio scooped him up in his arms.

"We're leaving. Hold on tight," He whispered. He bolted towards the tall horizontal glass windows where the landscape of the entire city can be seen. Their only route to freedom. Simon immediately knew their intention and shouted, "They're planning to escape! Stop them!"

His men start firing at them. Without wasting any time and as quick as a flash, both Ezio and Noctis smashed out of the window of their prison. Glass shattered around them as they plunged down the Abstergo building.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Simon ordered as he dashed towards the shattered windows and stared down. "Have they gone mad?! It's 80th storeys high from here!"

Ezio dived towards the building below. Noctis could feel the strong gush of wind rushing up at them as they fell. But Ezio could feel he's weakening greatly. He had just awoken up and used all his powers to his extent tires him greatly. He will lose conscious sooner or later and if he does, both will meet their impending doom.

"Noct…Use your crystal now."

Noctis turned to him.

"Hurry…I can't hold much longer…"

Noctis quickly took out his Crystal pendent and concentrated his energy into it. It began to glow, Ezio reached out and hold it together with Noctis; a bright light engulfed both and in a blink of an eye, they were gone.

Simon slammed his fist to the wall in rage and cursed. "Damn it! They got away! I was careless! I have to retrieve them before she finds out."

He instructed to his men. "Three of you, call all the high authorities to the meeting room now! The rest tend to the wounded or the deceased. Hurry!"

"Sir?"

"What is it?"

"We got an incoming call from Mobius."

Simon sighed. "Put them on the line. And I need them at the meeting as well."

* * *

 

Sebastian, Delsin and Ren reached William's house, parked the jeep in the garage and hurriedly entered the backdoor by the kitchen just to see his uncle washing the carrots he got from his farm.

"Seb? Delsin?" He was surprised to see both. "You're back really early. I thought the four of you will be out the entire day."

"Well something cropped up," Sebastian paced past him with Delsin following closely behind.

William sensed there's more to it. "Are you hiding something?" He asked.

Both stopped, looked at each other and swallowed hard. "No we're not. Why?"

William rinsed his hands and wiped them dried. "Your action tell me otherwise."

"Well…" Sebastian trying to think of an excuse. "I … want you to meet… a friend of mine as a surprise but I guess I failed right?" He gave Delsin a nudge.

"Y...Yeah," Delsin grinned.

"New friend?"

"Hi sir."

William turned to see Ren standing behind him. Ren smiled and waved in return, "Nice to meet you, I'm Ren Hojo. Friend of Sebastian."

William blinked his eyes in response, "I say…" he immediately offered a handshake. "William Castellanos, Sebastian's uncle. Nice to meet you. I must admit I didn't know he have another Japanese friend, so how do you two know each other?"

"We …" Sebastian stammered.

"Instagram," Ren replied. "We met online and had been chatting for quite a while. We were so surprised to bump into each other at the underwater museum isn't it, Sebastian?" He titled to the side and gave him a wink.

"Yes," Sebastian played along. "We knew each other on that site."

"…I thought you aren't into those," William raised an eyebrow at his nephew.

"I guess I changed."

* * *

 

Sebastian closed his bedroom door, locked it from the inside and leaned on it. He exhaled deeply and wiped off his sweat on his forehead.

"That was close," He looked at Ren. "Thanks to your quick thinking, we manages to convince my uncle that both Francis and Ezio had urgent matters to settle and will be back tomorrow or day after. But…" He paused for a while. "I feel bad lying to him and this lie won't last for long. Sooner or later he will find out."

"We have no choice," Delsin slumped onto the floor. "We can't possibly tell him the actual happenings back at the museum. He will think we had gone bonkers."

"We still had to search for them regardless," Ren said. "When we were back there I could sense Francis's presence though weak. But there's sadness too."

"What do you mean?" Delsin looked up to him. "I don't understand."

"I'm not sure how to explain. I only met him for a short time. I don't know much about him however what I felt back then was like he's bidding farewell. I told Sebastian about it."

Delsin turned to Sebastian. "Is it true?"

Sebastian nodded his head. "He asked me if I sense it too. I did a little back then and yeah, there was this slight sorrowful sensation. But I don't want to jump to conclusion till we find them."

"I believe they're still at the museum," Ren pointed out. "If we both can detect his presence, then there's a chance that Ezio could be with him."

Sebastian fall into deep thought. (I don't think they're held by Guillermo since during the encounter, he never even mentioned anything about them nor threatened us with their lives. Maybe like Ren said, they could still be entrapped but in another place where we can't access. Unless…) Sebastian frowned. He recalls Francis telling them about a mysterious woman in Keanu's memory. He assumed that woman could be Kidman as she went missing since the Beacon Incident.

(Could it be her doing?) He shook his head. (No…she doesn't possess any special abilities. She don't have the capability to do such things.)

His mind lingers to Ruvik. (He's definitely out of the list. He never met them before. If they weren't with these three suspects then who and where they could be?)

"We'll go back to the museum at midnight. We'll check that place again," Sebastian said.

"Erm..." Delsin interrupted. "We might have an issue."

"What do you mean?"

"Look" He points out of the window.

Sebastian and Ren peeked out, to the direction where Delsin was pointing; a black van parked not far from the mansion.

"It's that black van Ezio warned us about. What do we do now?"

Sebastian lours at it, he quickly lowered the curtains, dimming his room from the afternoon sun. "I'm not sure but it means trouble."

"Is that van always here?" Ren curiously asked.

"It was here yesterday according to Ezio," Delsin replied. "But left shortly after that. Now it's here again."

"We'll keep an eye till night falls. If it's still here…" Sebastian closed his eyes. "I'll lure it away while you both search for them."

Delsin goggled at him in total disbelief. "There's no way I'm letting you putting yourself at risk," He points at him. "I'm against this. If you so insist on it then I'm coming with you."

"I knew you'll say something like that…"

"I don't know what's the situation between you all and that vehicle but it's best we three stick together," Ren said. "Is there another alternate route to the museum to evade it?"

"There is actually," Sebastian replied.

In the end, they decided to stay put till night falls…

* * *

 

Ezio woke up and found himself lying on a big grass field. He heard a soft breathing sound to his right, he turned to find Noctis was lying next to him, sleeping.

He slowly sat up and looked around. He could see the sun setting, covering the entire place with its reddish orange light. This place was familiar as he observed and came to a realization that he's back to Hill Lake Point where the others were. However it seems they landed in a farm somewhere…

"I'm back…" he mumbled. Just then a sheep strolled to his side and start nibbling on his hood, he chuckled and gently pushed the little animal away.

"Sorry wool ball, that's my favourite coat."

The sheep baa in disappointment and returned back to its herd not far from where they were. Ezio then shook Noctis awake. "Wakey wakey."

Noctis grumbled and turned away. "Let me sleep for another 5 minutes…"

"We can't afford to waste any more time. Get up now, sleepyhead."

Noctis sat up drowsily. Ezio pulled him up to his feet and tidied him up including his messy spikey hair.

"Let's go."

"To where they are? You know the way back?" Noctis asked.

"Yeah…I've been here before. Sorry let me rephrase again; my other half of me was here before, I went to scout around the entire place to get familiarise."

"Are they far from here?" Noctis playfully kicks a small rock.

"Not really. We just need to cross the river over there. By the time we reached there, it will be already nightfall."

Noctis frolicked on the field ahead of him. It pleases Ezio that the boy finally back to his cheerful side and so was he. They were finally free from their captivity after being held there for half a year. Ezio contemplated how Noctis spent his time during his deep slumber.

"Noct?" He called out to him.

"Yeah?"

"Did…" He hesitated for a while. "Did they hurt you during my coma?"

Noctis was still for a few seconds before answering. "Not really. Always the same treatment and procedure as usual if you know what I meant."

"You seems nervous around Simon Winters. Did he do something to you?" Ezio stood at his side.

Noctis shook his head. "No… I just don't like his eyes and attitude. He's immensely creepy when you get to know him more. He had this deranged hobby."

"Mind telling?"

"He…had this fetish for young victims especially young boys or men…pardon my language but he's a fucking sadist," Noctis swallowed hard. "Those tortures he did to them was not a pleasant sight for me to witness…I'll never forget that nightmare. Their screams still ringing in my head."

Ezio immediately placed both hands on Noctis's shoulders. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most. It must had been hard for you during the six months."

Noctis smiled and shook his head. "I never blame you. You too already suffered a hard lot. But now we're free, we can go anywhere we want right?" The boy beamed with glee.

"Yes," Ezio looked down at him. "I'll introduce you to Delsin and the others. They're just like us."

"I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

 

"It's already nightfall and that van still here…" Delsin sighed. "Looks like we're sticking to plan B."

Ren checked his watch, "Two more hours before 12."

Sebastian sat by the study table, resting his head against his clasped hands. He was unsure on what to do; he prayed for the safety for both his friends at the same time he didn't want to drag them down on his personal plight any further. He stared down at both his hands then to the small glass cup right beside him. He remembered the words Ren previously said to him.

" _You have to accept them if you want to protect your friends and yourself."_

He began to concentrate on the cup, he focused his mind onto it. It shook a bit but the more he focused hard on it, it shook even more violently. Suddenly the cup just flew out of the table and smashed against the wall. The glass shards shattered to the floor.

Both were startled by Sebastian's sudden display of power. They watched as Sebastian slowly picked up the shards piece by piece. Once he gathered all, he showed it to them.

"Watch,"He poured the shards onto the table and focused on it again. Delsin and Ren stared open-mouthed as the shards began to merge with another until the glass cup was completely restored back to its previous state.

Completely flummoxed by the whole thing, Delsin picked up the cup and inspected it thoroughly to see if this is real or some mind trick. He then passed it to Ren who did the same thing before placing it back on the table.

"Wow, not only you possessed telepathy and extrasensory perception, you can restore things back to its original state," Delsin remarked. "Wait… does that mean you can heal?"

"No, I can neither heal others nor myself except for objects," Sebastian expressed out sadly. "If I can do that, I'll already rid myself of this dreadful sickness that have been a bother to me."

"You are sick?" Ren asked.

"Since the day I developed these powers, I had been falling ill quite frequently."

"Is it bad?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah… My seizures is random. Once it occur, I'll be in bed for a week. The longest is about a month. The doctors don't even know what's the main cause nor a treatment suitable for me. Rather than finding a cure, they instead experimented on me. The reason I came here was to avoid them."

"Good move," Ren applauded. "I'll do the same thing if I were you."

"Anyway let's head to the garage," Sebastian exited his room. "I'll go check on my uncle. You two wait for me there."

* * *

 

"He sounds asleep," Sebastian quietly opened up the garage doors. "Let's go before he awakes up."

"But it's not even 12 yet," Delsin looked at his watch.

"I know but at least he will be safe," Sebastian started the jeep up. "Come on."

Delsin sat on the passenger seat while Ren at the back. Sebastian quietly drove the vehicle without the headlights on, out of the garage. Instead of exiting through the front gate, he steered to the back gate. However exiting through the back, he had to drive through the woods to get to the main road. It's a troublesome detour but at least they can avoided the black van's line of sight.

Sebastian could feel the chills as they approached the dark woods slowly. The shadows silhouette of the tree and branches cast by the moon light resembles those of long menacing claws waiting to grab their victims and tore them apart anytime. As he observed them, he swallowed hard as it reminded him of her.

Shaking off his troubled thoughts, he concentrated on returning back to the museum. He turned on the headlights and drove through the woods; manoeuvring carefully across. A few minutes' drive through feels like hours due to the tight narrow surroundings. Sebastian felt at ease the moment he caught sight of the main road street lights ahead.

"Just furthermore and we will be out of the damn forest," he said softly.

"That's good to hear," Delsin looked out of the car window. "Sure is spooky at night but beautiful at day."

"You can say that," Sebastian looked up to the rear view mirror to check on Ren behind, "You doing ok?"

"Yeah," Ren's both hands were gripping tightly at his camera. "Kind of restless in this sort of place."

"You don't have to be now," Sebastian reassured him. "We're out."

Sebastian carefully drive the jeep down a small grassy slope and up onto the main road. However halfway through, the engine suddenly died down causing the trio to freeze on the spot in shock. Sebastian tries to ignite the engine again however in vain. No matter how many times he tries, it just won't start.

"Shit!" He cursed. "At a time like this?"

"This is really odd," Delsin exited, opens up the hood and inspected the engine inside. Then he proceeded to check on the tyres.

"Anything wrong?"

Delsin put both hands on waist. "Nothing. No malfunction, no leakage, no puncture. The petrol tank is still full. Everything's perfectly fine, I don't see anything that causing this fault."

Delsin suddenly motioned Sebastian and Ren towards him, he whispered softly.

"Erm… I was wondering, maybe you both could use that sight of yours to see if 'They' are the ones behind it?"

They were speechless.

"I can't see those things," Delsin shrugged.

"Alright," Ren took out his camera and took a snapshot of the jeep. The photo developed and there was nothing weird shown on it. Sebastian made a round around it but sensed nothing particular too.

"Not their doing."

"If it's not those then what's causing it?" Delsin scratched his head.

"Who knows," Ren sighed. "So we walk?"

"It's quite a distance from here," Sebastian said. "It will be nearing morning when we get there. Besides…" He gazed towards the dark woods. "It's seriously a short ride before the breakdown."

"Then what option do we have now?" Delsin kneeled down. "The jeep's down, the black van still out there, the doctor could be anywhere."

"Err…guys…" Ren was pointing towards a distance on the main road. "I think something's coming."

Sebastian looked towards the direction where Ren was pointing, "That's a stroke of luck. It could be some night travellers. Maybe we can hitch a ride."

"If it turns out to be the doctor at the wheels smiling at us, I'm so going to flip the jeep," Delsin grunted.

Sebastian, out of a sudden received a Vision through his mind; it showed him the black van, 4 men in black suits and a woman, the Mobius logo lastly followed by a hooded man with a blade for a split seconds before abruptly ended. The sudden perception staggered Sebastian as he immediately realised his power is warning him of the incoming danger.

"Hide…" He said to both Ren and Delsin.

"Huh?"

He speedily grabbed them by their arms each and dragged them back to the woods.

"Sebastian?" Ren gazed up to him. Sebastian placed a finger before pursed lips to hush him and did the same gesture to Delsin. The trio watches in silence as the black van which was seen in Sebastian's vision, parked itself beside their stranded jeep. Four men in black suit stepped out and inspected the vehicle. Shortly after a woman dressed similarly, got out of the van too.

"Anything?" she spoke. Sebastian shuddered at her voice; it was familiar, he heard it before however it wasn't her. This voice was more monotonous. Could it be that woman from the…

"They could still be around. Search them," She ordered her men.

"Yes ma'am." They spread out.

"Remember, we need him alive and unharmed, I don't want any mistakes or I'll be finding myself filing unnecessary reports to him."

(Him?) Sebastian frowned.

"We have to go," Delsin tugged at Sebastian's sleeve. "We can't stay here. It's not safe."

"Y…yeah."

"Come on," Delsin led them further back into the woods. He don't like the feeling of venturing back but had to do so to evade those men. Since it's only temporary, it won't hurt much. However they didn't really get far when they heard sounds from behind.

They whirled around to see two of those men catching up to them. How in the world did they know they were here?

"Stop right where you're!" One of them yelled.

"Go!" Sebastian hurried Delsin and Ren. They ran as fast as they could, pushing away the bushes, twigs and branches out of their way as they tried to get away. The men pursued them closely since the target they were after is right at their sight.

The three of them sprinted up a slope and into an opening of the forest however they came to a sudden halt. The other two men along with the woman, were already there. They tried to make a turn back but their pursuers already caught up with them.

Delsin carefully shot a few concrete attacks as a warning. He did so to scare them away as he would rather avoid bloodshed; he didn't like to kill but will do so if they endangered his allies. The agents showed no fear, they continued to approach them dangerously, armed with weapons. Ren took out a switchblade from his vest, ready to defend himself. Sebastian was still unsure if he should use his psychic…

He senses that one of the agents will fired at them in approximately four seconds.

"Delsin! Shield!" Sebastian yelled.

Delsin crouched down and slammed his hand hard on the grass; concrete spikes emerges out creating a concrete barrier between them and their assailants. The three of them instinctively ducked for cover.

One of them DID fire; the bullets ricocheted off the barrier. Delsin got up and fired a fiery smoke to the attacker; knocking the handgun off his hand. Delsin quickly materialized into a smoke, dashed through the man, rematerialized behind and choke-slammed him to the ground, then crushes his head with a concrete without mercy.

The other agent beside was completely startled by Delsin's merciless act and froze still. Not giving him the chance to retaliate, Delsin was about to strike with his chain whip when Ren suddenly appeared and stabbed the agent on the back with his switchblade, he yelled in pain as he fell to the ground. Ren's hand was stained with blood but he was calmed. Before the agent can get himself back up to his feet, Delsin thrust a sharp pointed concrete dagger straight to his head.

Two agents dead at their feet in just a few split minutes, they both turned their attention towards the remaining two and the female. They somehow don't seem to bother by their team mates' death instead the female agent just adjusted her glasses and sighed, "Another mess. Now I had to clean it up once this is over."

She then motioned to her remaining men, one of them immediately dashed towards Sebastian and tried to grab him by the arm but Ren was quick. He shoved the agent away, took out his camera and took a shot. The camera emitted a bright flash making the agent squint temporarily. The agent then proceeded to take out a baton, swung it towards Ren however an unseen force knocked him back. He managed to balance himself and tries to hit Ren again…

He suddenly noticed his hand that was holding the baton, gone. He looked down and saw his arm lying on the grass. He looked back up and saw Ren holding a torn photo; he peered at it and came to a sudden shock that the photo was actually himself. Ren had taken a photo of him and the torn part was the place where his right arm was.

Ren proceeded to tear the photo; this time he tears off the left leg and the agent fell to the ground heavily. His leg was torn from him however the agent felt neither excruciating pain nor blood splatting out, it's as if he had become part of the photo.

Ren stood over and watched the agent squirmed in fright. He lastly torn off the head section on the photo and the agent shared the same fate, lying dead with his head gone.

"I'm sorry," Ren quietly apologised. (I didn't want to do this…)

Delsin quickly hold Sebastian by the hand and led him to safety. The three stood face to face with the woman and her last standing agent.

"What an astounding unusual power you displayed," the woman remarked to Ren. "He will be fascinated. For such a young man like you with such potential can't walk unnoticed but it's really great shame you aren't the breed we're looking for."

Ren didn't say anything in return.

"Goes the same for the Conduit. Both are considered failure and parasites to her New Age so you know what fate awaits."

"Yeah I heard it lots of times," Delsin gave her a death stare. Sebastian glanced at him, to the woman then back to Delsin. He pondered what they were talking about.

"Sebastian Castellanos," the woman calls out to him in her usual monotonous tone.

"Tatiana Gutierrez..." Sebastian replied.

"You remembered me? It pleases me."

Delsin and Ren looked at Sebastian.

"You're one odd nurse back then," Sebastian said. "But wouldn't you a mis….?"

"Anyway," Tatiana interrupted him. "We have orders to take you back. Please excuse me for a minute."

"Wait…" He tries to stop her when a strange humming sounds echoed out loudly.

"Argh!" Delsin covered both ears and collapsed in pain so was Ren. Sebastian slumps to the ground as well and was dragged away by the agent. Delsin tries to get up to stop the agent but the sound weakens him greatly.

Sebastian was held with both his hands clasped tightly behind his back as he was dragged towards Tatiana. He saw her holding a small item shaped like a music box on her hand and it was the very object that plays the strange humming sound.

"Seb…" Delsin pushed himself up though in agony, he tries to call out his powers but nothing came and he collapsed back to the ground again.

"This music box renders your power useless and leaves you in a vulnerable state. It was engineered and created for parasites like you both and hybrids," Tatiana explained. She took a handgun and points at Ren at point blank range. "Now to dispose you both before things get out of hands."

Sebastian struggles against the strong grip.

"NO!" He shouted.

Then the grip around his hands loosened. Confused, Sebastian whirled behind and saw the last agent choking on his own blood and a small blade was pulled out from his neck.

"Requiescat In Pace," a black hooded figure stepped forth.

Tatiana was distracted by the sudden attack that she felt a sharp pain on her hand resulting her dropping the music box. Before she could retrieve, a boy suddenly snatched it and distanced himself away from her.

She saw the boy glaring at her as he crushes the music box with his bare hands. The sound stops and the pain inflicted on both Delsin and Ren vanished immediately.

Knowing that she's now in a plight; with her men gone, she can't even fend for herself since she's outnumbered, she quickly uses a flash bomb. Everyone got blinded and by the time they recovered she was gone.

"She's got away!" The boy yelled.

"It's alright. Let her go," The man said. "We will meet her again when time comes."

"Who are you?" Sebastian asked.

"Geez… I was missing for a few hours and you already forgot about me. You break my heart Sebastian," the man pulled his hood back, revealing himself. "It's me, Ezio."

End of chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13: Traverse

**Chapter 13: Traverse**

"Ezio?!" Sebastian squinted his eyes to get a good close look. Ezio seeing Sebastian's big reaction just grinned in return. Something was different; Ezio before was younger and had a short tied brown hair ponytail now he's maturely older and most peculiar was his hair now silvery white and longer similar to Francis.

"Is it really you?"

"Of course it's me, Ezio crossed his arms. "You looked like as if you have just seen a ghost."

"What in the world happened to you?" Delsin stepped forth. "Don't tell me Francis disguised you as him just to surprise us? Speaking about that, where is he? Isn't he with you?"

"He was but no longer now," Ezio looked away. Ren immediately understood that the figure he encountered was a….

"So Mr Francis really was…" Ren spoke softly.

Delsin and Sebastian stood dumbfounded by what they just heard; Francis was dead along?! Then how do they explained about the past few days event? Francis brewing medicines, even chat and went out with them like he's alive.

Delsin went ahead to pinch himself to check if he's dreaming since he hung out with both Ezio and Francis longer than the others. But how can this be possible? Francis was so real; he even taught Delsin some basic herbal medicines knowledge. Now Ezio revealed that Francis was a ghost manifestation along.

"Let's head back to William's house first," Ezio knew he owe them an explanation. "It's best not to stay out in the cold night for too long."

* * *

"Ok," Delsin rustled his hair as he removed his beanie. "Is there something you're not telling us, pal? I'm sorry but all this weird shit happenings is getting out of hands. Firstly you and Francis suddenly vanished into thin air back at the underwater museum then out of a sudden you brought us the boy whom you met in your dream, Francis was a manifestation you created during your comatose period and lastly my meeting with you both seems to be way off…" He pressed his fingers on his forehead. "How should I put it? You mentioned Francis died a year back. You were taken by Abstergo shortly after his passing and been in a comatose state for the past six months so during this period of time, who was I actually travelling with?"

"Manifested Francis and myself," Ezio answered Delsin's question without hesitation.

Delsin narrowed his eyes, "W...what?"

"Delsin," Ezio calms his friend down. "I know things are complicated. I just want you to know that you aren't going crazy since I had the ability to manifest another me and infused it with my consciousness. I did it without knowing as I refused to accept reality however it was Francis who jolted me out of it."

He sighed. "He helped me recalled my past, enabling me to return to my true body which was being held at Abstergo to reunite with Noctis. With my awakening and escape, they are on the move now as we speak."

Sebastian sat on his bed while listening attentively. He tends to hear them out before questioning.

"If you say they're on the move does that mean we're all in danger now?" Ren pointed out.

"As a matter of fact, we all are," Ezio sat next to Sebastian. "You don't mind joining us? I think it will be safer if we stick together."

"They are after me too?" Sebastian pointed to himself.

"I'm not sure but I need to let you know that the Mobius Organization is in alliance with Abstergo due to their projects involving human brains, memories, DNA all sorts. The Templars might learnt about you if they DID tell."

Sebastian thought for a second. "All right. I'll tag along."

"I will like to introduce," Ezio patted Noctis on the back. "This is Noctis. He's the boy I previously told you guys about."

Noctis was jumpy. He quickly lowered his head down; dared not to make eye contact with everyone. Both his hands clutched his long black coat and stutter a very soft, "H-hi…n-nice to m-meet y-you all."

Ezio chuckled, "He's tends to get very shy though he was eager to meet every one of you."

"Nice to meet you," Sebastian smiled which causes Noctis to blush a little.

"Pleasure to meet you," Delsin grinned while Ren just did a small polite wave gesture.

"So what's our next move?" The Conduit asked.

"We'll set off the next thing in the afternoon," Ezio directed. "We can't get Mr William involve in this organisation conspiracy we're dealing with. You both do know about the danger you're facing."

"Yeah I know," Delsin bit his lower lip.

"I fear for my life every day," Ren sighed.

"What do you guys mean?" Sebastian looked up to them both.

"You saw it with your own eyes," Delsin said. "Those bastards want us both dead. Conduits and Edeners are considered a threat to them due to our immunity to the Eden Wave. They even mislead the public into believing we were the ones responsible for the outbreak."

"And I had no idea why they give this stupid codename 'Edeners' to us," grumbled Ren. "Sounds so straight out of an anime."

"What outbreak?" Sebastian realized he wasn't up to date on the recent news but he swore he never read any outbreak related articles. Since Ezio told him that Mobius was in alliance with Abstergo, there's no doubt those madmen were involved.

"Don't mind me asking," Sebastian probed. "But what this outbreak you're discussing about?"

"Hybrida Virus," Noctis sat on the chair. "The Satellite in which Abstergo launches three years back was actually the main cause. The Wave itself contains a certain rare genetic code which can rewrite human's cells and DNA. Once both of these organisms mutates, that Virus will trigger. No one will know when or where they will be infected by it, it just comes."

"Is it airborne or by transmission?"

"Unknown," Noctis shrugged. "But you can get infected if one bites you."

"You know… like those zombie video games you played," Delsin give a better understanding of it.

"So far the only infected places I knew are New York City, Seattle, Japan and Italy but I'm not sure if it had been spread to other regions," Ren showed them a map in which he marked the infected places with a red circle. "They're currently on heavy quarantine blockade."

"And what are the symptoms?"

"On the first day of infection, a small spot of dark veins like patterns will appear on the victim's skin. It will then spread slowly throughout the body and victim will be struck by a sudden high fever on the second. Lastly the third day will decide whether they get to live or become violently deranged," Ezio explained.

Sebastian was startled about the abnormal symptoms of this strange unheard virus which he's getting basic knowledge on.

"It actually depends on the victim's luck; if his or her body can't adapt to the mutation, they will become an insane zombified human. BUT if they're lucky, they entered the stage of advanced evolution that is becoming a hybrid with unique DNA…." Ezio trailed off. "However being one isn't actually a good thing too."

"Why?" Sebastian stared at him. "At least they survived right? Instead of going psychosis."

"It's different," Ezio disagreeing. "Their lives will never be the same again."

"Well… at least none of us here were infected," Delsin sounds confident.

Ezio and Noctis exchanged looks. "Actually you are seeing two now."

Sebastian, Delsin and Ren jumped.

"You can't be serious…" Ren backed away.

"I'm actually a pure Hybrid to begin with for you all to know however Noctis isn't. He was infected yet survived."

"I don't want to relive about it," Noctis shook his head. "It was the worst day of my live."

A stillness roused among them. Sebastian had no words to say, neither do Ezio nor others. In just within a day, so many unexpected things happened; the truth about Francis, meeting Ren, encountering the Doctor and Mobius agents as well as the Hybrida Virus existence. So much to absorb…

"I think we should stop and get some rest," Ren suggested. "I'm sure everyone must be worn out."

"Yeah. We should. See you in the morning."

* * *

"Ezio you sure do surprise me with your new looks," William remarked. "So yesterday you went off to get your hair dye?"

"Yeah you can say that," Ezio helped to clean the cups. "Kinda cool isn't it?"

"Sure it does," William guffawed. "I was like you when I was around your age. By the way where's Francis that pretty boy? Sebastian told me you were with him."

Ezio paused for moment before forcing a smile. "He… got a call from a relative that something happened back at his home that he departed hastily. But he did ask me to give his gratitude to you for your kind hospitality for the days you let us stay at your place."

"Oh hush," William waved off. "Don't stand on ceremony. I should be the one to show gratitude for what you all have done for us both. If it wouldn't for you all, Sebastian wouldn't be here," he lifted his head up to look out of the kitchen window to see his nephew chatting with Delsin, Ren and Noctis at the garden. Sebastian seems cheerful when Ren took photos of him.

"It's been awhile since I last saw Seb smile," William commented softly. "He's been smiling a lot since he met you guys." He noticed Noctis waving at them.

"I didn't know you had little brother," William turned to Ezio. "This morning his sudden greeting really shocked me."

"I'm sincerely sorry for not notifying you about his arrival. It happened at the last minute. I wanted to tell you but you're already sound asleep."

"No worries. A small matter. Don't feel bad about it."

Ezio smiled again as he resumes cleaning the cups.

(I still feel bad about it considering what I am going to do next… You will soon forget about us, Mr William.)

* * *

"Ezio," Ren ran over to him. "There's something I want to show you."

He led Ezio to a grass spot near the gate where they parked the jeep. Ezio watches closely as Ren gently pushing the grasses aside revealing an oddly hand drawn circle with strange symbols on the ground.

"I was taking some scenery photographs when a strong presence in this area caught my attention and led me to it. I thought you might know what this is. I never seen such drawings before."

Ezio took a closer view and was stunned for a second. He recognized it; an extremely powerful arcane spell circle usually draw by Salem warlords to keep evil entities away. Once engraved on a certain spot, it can't never be erased, forever safeguarding the residents or person within its range.

And the only one who can performed such spell was none other than Francis himself.

(Even as just a manifestation, your will to protect others still remains intact. You drew this to protect us. Francis I thank you.)

"Ezio?"

"Oh it's just an arcane spell to ward off bad things. It's harmless. There's no need to fret," he replied.

"I see. From the way you observed, it must be from Francis," Ren said.

"It was."

"I know you missed him dearly nevertheless the days he spent with you was a great gift to him. I'm sure what he wants right now is you to move forth rather than entrapping in the past."

Ezio let out a soft laugh. "He probably will haunt me in my dreams if he sees me depressed. But now we all have a bigger problems to settle."

"You planned on going to Krimson City?"

"Yeah. I need to dig out more information regarding on that particular organisation. When I woke up from my coma, all my repressed memories resurfaced and the word 'Mobius' becomes clear in my mind. That's why I recalled that both are in league with each other."

"It won't be easy dealing with them," Ren frowned. "After what they did."

"I know. It won't be long before they start spreading their domination to worldwide."

"You think there will be others like us out there rebelling against them?"

"Definitely there is. Sadly both organization were on the winning side since they got more supporters, sponsors as well as advanced technologies."

Ren seems to recall something. "By the way, do you happened to know of a man named Idola during your captivity?"

"Idola? Not really. Never heard about him since majority of the top staffs are top classified confidential. They won't let a captive like me to know so much," there was a brief pause. "Wait…maybe Noctis might know."

"You don't mind if I ask him? I hope I'm not asking too much."

"How do you get to know about this guy?"

"I did my own research during my refugee days. I was forced to flee from my homeland, Japan during the Hybrida outbreak period."

"What about your family?"

"I don't know what happened to them," Ren tucked his hands into his pant pocket. "I…I don't really have a close relationship with my family. I lost with contact them during the getaway. But I'm rather close to my distant cousin. I'm hope he's ok."

"I'm sorry that I ask," Ezio apologised. "I didn't mean for you to recall that event."

"It's ok. All I can do is pray their safety and do my best to survive till we're reunited…if they're still alive."

* * *

"Idola?" Noctis looked up to them from his seat as he played with his cell phone. "Why did you ask me about that man?"

"Well I thought you gave us some in-depth," Ren said.

Noctis sighed. "I actually do know him. A sly shrewd snake. You mentioning him all of a sudden really jumps me.

"What's connection you have with him?" Ezio queried.

Noctis leaned back on the seat. "Regarding what connection we had, I don't want to talk about it. Anyway all I can tell he's currently is in charge of keeping the cities in strict order. His lapdogs were the ones responsible for setting checkpoints and quarantine blockades in the outbreak cities. To sum it all up, their main duty is to eradicate those who stand against the Queen."

"The Queen again…" Ren mumbled. "I keep hearing about her but she never ever once showed herself to public nor media."

"That's because she can't," Ezio replied.

"Why is that?"

"Maybe she prefers to be low profile," Noctis rubbed his chin.

"Have you both seen her before?"

"No," Noctis shook his head. Ezio wanted to admit that he did still he thought it is not the right time to do so he chose to remain discreet about it. He looked at the clock on the wall to see that it's already 5pm in the evening. It is time for them to leave as planned.

* * *

"You got everything ready, Sebastian?" Delsin stood by the doorway with both hands tucked in his denim jacket pockets.

"I got nothing to bring with me since I lost both my backpack and passport back at the train. I just need to bring myself," Sebastian reminded him in a joking way.

"Oh yeah," Delsin stuck his tongue out in a playful manner.

"You both ready to go?" Ezio called out.

"Yup."

They headed down the stairs and saw William already standing by the main door waiting.

"Returning back to Krimson?" He asked his nephew.

Sebastian nodded. "I still have works to settle Uncle. I'm sorry I can't stay for very long. But I honestly had a great time here and feeling a lot better now."

"I was hoping you will move out of that place and live here with me," William gave a sad look. "I know Krimson City is nonetheless the place where you belong but the memories there are unendurable."

"I get what you mean but I got things to resolve."

"When will you be back again?"

"I don't know. Probably next winter," Sebastian was unsure if he can ever returned here. William gave his nephew a warm hug.

"You can return here anytime you want. Do remember to take your medication daily ok?"

"I will."

"And…" he turned his gaze to Ezio and the others. "They too can come here for holiday as well. You all are welcomed here. Do send my regards to Francis."

"I will," Ezio bowed. He immediately looked towards Delsin's direction and signalled by tilting his head. The Conduit without a word, led Sebastian away.

Ren stood still, pondering what's going on and why the air around them grew so tense. He watched in silence as Ezio suddenly raised his hand right in front of William's confused face while Delsin held Sebastian's arm.

"W…what are you doing?"

"Trust him," Delsin whispered. Sebastian with his own eyes, saw Ezio hypnotizing his uncle. He was transfixed by the strange glowing tattoos appearing on Ezio's face, hands and both his golden eyes glowed as he put a trance on William. In split seconds, he fell unconscious on Ezio's arms.

Sebastian pushed Delsin aside, ran to his uncle's side and glared at Ezio angrily. "What the hell did you do?!"

"He's only asleep, I just erased his memories on us. When he regained consciousness, he will no longer remember us except you Sebastian."

"Why?" Sebastian demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

"I did it to protect him. It's best this way," Ezio explained. "Please understand."

"But…"

"We often do this," Delsin cut in. "It's better that they don't know us since you knew clearly that we're wanted fugitives." He turned to Ren, "I'm sure you can understand it too."

"Yeah I do."

"I know still…" Sebastian kind of hesitated.

"We could comprehend what you're trying to say Sebastian," Noctis tugged Sebastian's sleeve. "Yet it's all for his own good."

Ezio carefully laid William on the sofa before tucking a warm blanket on him. "I'm sorry Mr William. Sleep well."

"Let's go then."

* * *

"You sure you all want me to come along?" Ren followed Delsin closely.

"Yeah the doctor knows you're with us. It will be safer with five of us travelling together," Delsin toured around the train station with curiosity at the same time taking down some quick sketches. "Guessed I got some inspiration for my graffiti."

He happily showed his sketches while Ren admires it with awe. In exchange he showed Delsin his photographs collection album.

Meanwhile Ezio and Noctis were stocking up stuffs from the stalls when Sebastian tapped Ezio's back, "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You sure you want to go to Krimson City?"

"Yup," Ezio was determined. "I need to check something there. Since Mobius is working together is Abstergo, there's a chance I might find an Eden piece."

"Eden?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"I will tell you about it later," Ezio gave him a thumbs up. "Maybe you can be our tour guide once we get there."

Sebastian was wondering whether this is a good idea to bring everyone to Krimson City since he was nearly abducted by Mobius agents including Guillermo. Speaking of that cursed doctor, Sebastian found himself now standing outside the station where the train he previously boarded should have stopped. The people who in the same train with him were still reported missing by the news though Sebastian clearly knows they were already been massacred.

With him being the sole survivor and he telling the media the whole truth about what happened will only raise more questions and suspicions. No one will believe his story. They will definitely called him a lunatic; who in the world will believe a story where a twisted minded doctor actually devoured a whole lot people in just one night. They will surely listed Sebastian the main suspect.

Sebastian somehow felt even if he returns, it will be advisable not to return to the precinct for the time being.

He watches as people strolled back and forth. He swallowed hard; dreaded that the same incident will repeated itself all over again; everyone around him will always ended up in tragedy.

He turned back seeing Ezio and the others storing the stuffs they gathered onto the jeep. He was worried for them especially Delsin and Ren since the three of them were close now. Delsin saved him from Guillermo while Ren taught him photography but he was unsure of the event lies ahead.

Nevertheless he couldn't bear the thoughts of losing anyone dear to him.

"The drive from Hill Lake Point to Krimson is going to be long. A day and a half the longest if we didn't get stuck or anything," Ezio started the jeep and they drove off.

* * *

Sebastian was quiet the entire time. Never spoken a word as he just stared outside of the car window towards the sceneries as the jeep drove by. Delsin sat next to him, busy sketching on his sketchbook while both Ren and Noctis slept peacefully.

Ezio drove without striking a conversation. He did occasionally observed Sebastian through the rear view mirror. He wanted to have a chat yet seeing the way how Sebastian is now dealing with the current situation, he felt talking won't do much help.

It wasn't long the sun sets and night welcomes them. Ezio drove them to a diner to grab a bite before resuming on their journey. Sebastian later got a text message from his uncle asking if he's doing fine and whether he had reached Krimson, he notices William didn't mention Ezio and the others at all in his messages.

_(Guessed Ezio really altered his memories.)_ Sebastian thought to then something icy cold touched his cheek snapping him out of his thoughts. He saw Delsin holding two soda cans, offering one to Sebastian before settling down beside him.

"Thinking about your uncle?"

"Yeah," Sebastian drank the cold soda. "You said you all had been doing this all the time. Erasing away people's memories. Won't it be lonely? I mean your existence don't exist in everyone's minds."

Delsin took a sip of his soda drink. "We are used to it. Been doing that when Francis was still around."

"Wonder how it will be like if he's still alive rather than a manifestation?" Sebastian played with his drink can.

"He's still Francis," Delsin tossed the can into a nearby trash bin. It wasn't long Ren came to join them.

"It's rather cold outside," he said to them. "But I had to admit you can't deny the view here."

The trio gazed up to the nightly light casted by the full moon and around it were tiny glittering lights. Sebastian quietly reminisced the days where he and Joseph will lied down on a big grassy field with a telescope viewing the night sky for long hours. It was one of the good old memories he had. Sebastian clutches his shirt; he highly hopes that his best friend is still alive wherever he was right now.

He recalled back in STEM, he witnessed Kidman shot Joseph and accused her of killing his partner yet when he regained conscious back in the real world; Joseph was already gone. Only him, the deceased Connelly and Jimenez were left behind.

When the SWATS came to their rescue, Sebastian strongly requested that they searched for his missing partner. They did the search but only bad news came to his ears;

" _We're sorry Detective Castellanos. We had already scouted the entire asylum and nearby areas thoroughly per your request, he's nowhere to be found. I highly suggested you report this to the Chief."_

" _It's been already a month and there's still no updates on Oda's whereabouts. He disappeared just the others. We're still on-going the investigation so please Sebastian, get some proper rest and leave the case to us."_

" _How do you expect me to take a long term break when my partner's still missing?! I already lost my daughter and my wife's still missing! I can't afford to lose Joseph! He's the only friend I got!"_

" _I understand your ordeal right now however you're straining your health to the limit. Since the incident, you haven't had been resting properly and your condition's getting worse."_

" _I don't give a fucking damn about my illness. Finding my partner is now my top priority!" Sebastian headed for the exit, he suddenly lost his balance and hit the wall railing hard._

" _Sebastian!" The chief quickly helped him up. "Are you alright?"_

" _Argh….." Sebastian rubbed his head temple and felt a wet sticky feeling on his hand. He stared down just to see his hand stained with blood. His head was bleeding due to the fall. He fell unconscious. That's was the reason he got hospitalized for two whole weeks…_

(I wondered when I will ever get better.) He closed his eyes.

"Ren to Sebastian… hello…"

Sebastian opened his eyes again. For a momentarily, he thought he saw Joseph. He blinked his eyes and realized it wasn't his dear friend instead it was just Ren staring down at him.

"You drift off again," Ren poked him on the forehead. "I had been calling out to you so many times."

"You did?" Sebastian scratched his head. "Sorry."

"Geez…you really should stop stuffing your brain with never-ending troubles thoughts or else your hair going to turn white," Delsin joked.

Sebastian just laughed. He then took a quick glance at Ren, noticed some of his face features and actions resembled Joseph. Looking at him is like looking at a younger Joseph.

"Is there something on my face?" Ren noticed the stare Sebastian was giving him.

"Nothing…"

They soon boarded the jeep and went on their journey.

* * *

"You should get some sleep," Ezio spoke while he watches Sebastian reading a book as he drove. Sebastian rubbed his eyes as he stuffed the book back into the glove compartment and yawned slightly.

"I can't…" He turned behind to check on Noctis, Delsin and Ren who were now sound asleep on the back passenger seat.

"Aren't you tired?" Sebastian asked Ezio. "If you are, we can swap place."

"I'm doing fine here. I don't get tired easily," Ezio eyed at Sebastian with concern. "It's you who should rest. I don't want your frail body to fail you again."

"Relax," Sebastian reassured Ezio. "I will be fine as long as I take my medication."

"I know but how long can your medication helps?"

Sebastian immediately went silent. It seems Ezio got a point since his medication supplies are limited. Sooner or later, he had to return to the Krimson hospital to replenish the stock. He let out a frustrated grunt when he remembers the collection date was drawing near. Seeing the hospital sight only makes him shrink away from it and it takes a lot of persuasion just to get Sebastian to step inside the building.

He had to think of a way to heal himself of this illness. He really can't go on living like this and swallowing disgusting medicine pills all the time. He felt so revolted by the taste every time he put them in his mouth. There were even times he refuses to take them until his Chief, colleagues or annoying doctors and nurses pleaded him to do so.

Sebastian rested his head against the passenger seat head rest and closed his eyes.

"Ezio?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I will be rid of my illness if I acknowledge the gift within me?"

"You mean your psychic power?" Ezio said.

"Yes…Do you think I will get better?" Sebastian looked at him. Inside his heart, he was hoping that Ezio will shed some light into his doubts.

"It's hard to say," Ezio honestly answered his question. "Your body condition, mind and psychic actually depends on your will power. But whether your illness will be completely heal if you decide to accept, I can't guarantee."

There was brief pause before Ezio continued. "It might take some time…perhaps."

Sebastian felt his hope was being balanced on a thin thread which can be snapped anytime. Even Ezio, a pure hybrid was unable to give him the answer he sought.

Sensing the discontent coming from Sebastian, Ezio tried to cheer him up.

"Hey come on. Don't take it so seriously on what I just said. Maybe you will get better, you just got to think positive."

Sebastian gave a small smirk. "Thank you. I will try to be optimistic."

The car lights suddenly flickers and dies off. It happened so fast that Ezio quickly stepped on the brake bringing the car to a screeching halt to avoid any accidents. The three behind were all stirred awake by the shock.

"What…what happened?" Delsin baffled. Noctis was still feeling somnolent while Ren adjusted his glasses as usual.

"The jeep lights died off out of a sudden," Ezio alighted. "I go check."

He didn't find anything wrong with it. He headed back inside and restarted the engine, to his relief the car lights were back again. He was about to step on the accelerator when Noctis spoke," What's with the fog?"

"Fog?" Ezio looked out and saw fog were slowly forming around the jeep.

"Was there fog before that?" Delsin asked Ezio.

"No there wasn't any," Ezio felt something wasn't right. He couldn't sense any incoming threat yet his leg were ready on the accelerator pedal, one hand on the wheels while the other gripping the gear. He was ready to drive on full speed if anything happens.

He hoped it was just a false alarm…

Ren looked outside and saw a badly burnt hand on the side window then a pale face slowly appeared, staring right at him with cold eyes. Ren was frightened by the unsettling sight of the slender pale man that he began to panic.

"Drive the jeep now," he pleaded.

"Huh?"

"Just do it!"

Ezio changed the gear to 'drive' mode, stepped hard on the pedal and sped off. Noctis, Delsin, Ren and Sebastian bumped back on their seats due to the rapid speed.

"What's going on?!" Noctis yelled.

"Is it the doctor?" Delsin asked Ren. "You sense him?"

Ren wanted to say it wasn't…

"No…" Sebastian shook his head in terror. "No…not him…not him…!"

"Sebastian?" Ren sensed an unknown energy around the detective.

"Is it Guillermo?! Sebastian!" Anxiety was taking over Delsin. "Sebastian!"

Sebastian cringed. He could hear the loud static sound. That very same dreaded sound he heard before and now it's back to haunt him. He immediately shut his eyes tight and covered his ears with both hands.

"Stop the sound! Someone stop the sound! Make it stop!" he cried out. The sound was unbearable. The throbbing excruciating pain inside his head was a torture to him. The horrors of STEM is back to plague him into those nightmares.

"There's no sound," Ezio turned to him then focused back to the road. "Get a grip on yourself!"

"Sebastian!" Noctis began to fret. "What sound are you talking about? There's none at all…"

"Sebastian! Please!" Delsin grabbed hold of Sebastian's hand. "Get a hold of yourself!"

Ren realized what he had to do, quickly leaned forth and placed both his hands on Sebastian's head.

"Keep calm," he whispered softly. Sebastian soon felt a flow of calming warmth energy channelling from Ren's hands to him. He could feel it; he could feel the static sounds growing distant and slowly fades away. Ren let go and Sebastian opened his eyes. Cold sweats were streaming down his face as he gasped.

Ren was able to banish the sounds away and purified the negative energy surrounding Sebastian. Sebastian felt serene right after Ren performed his healing on him. But he recalls the progress will exhausted Ren greatly.

Sebastian looked behind to see his young friend panting.

"Ren…"

Ren looked up to the windshield and caught sight of the same pale figure standing in the middle of the road.

"LOOK OUT!" he shouted. Ezio alarmed by the unforeseen warning that he steered the wheel to the right hard, avoiding the figure that he ended up losing control of the wheels. The jeep skidded across the road, followed by a loud crashing sound and Ezio knows no more as darkness seeps in.

**End of chapter 13**


	14. Trapped Within

Chapter 14: Trapped Within

 

'Ezio! Ezio!'

'…ummm…' Ezio groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. His vision unfocused while his head and body were throbbing in pain as well as dizziness after the crush. He shut his eyes tight and shook his head to shake off the effects. He stayed calm, following by a slow-going breathing progress for a few seconds before reopening his eyes again.

His vision returned yet blurry. He blinked a few more times and his sight returns. He glanced to his left and right before Noctis came to his view. He was taken aback by Noctis's appearance; the boy's face and clothes were covered in dirt, his hair was slightly messy and… blood stain on his arms.

'Noct….what the hell happened to you?' Ezio grabbed him by the shoulder. A sharp ache stung that Ezio slightly hunched forth a little. Immediately perceive the dire plight they got into, Ezio instantly turned his attention to the back seat. His heart skipped when he found Delsin, Ren including Sebastian were nowhere to be seen.

'We got to help them,' Noctis snapped Ezio out of his stupefied state as he pulled him out of the damaged jeep. 'They are in trouble! We got to go now!'

'But you're bleeding.'

'Those aren't my blood," Noctis said. 'I slew some creeps while you're unconscious.'

'Creeps?' At the corner of his eyes, Ezio saw three deformed humans lying dead in a pool of blood.

'I had no idea what they were but they just pop out of nowhere,' Noctis stared alongside with him.

Fearing for the other's safety especially Sebastian, Ezio jerked himself free from Noctis' grip. He returned to the jeep and pulled out a small box from beneath his driver seat. He opened up to retrieve two Colt Double Eagle pistols. He inspected the clips, locks and gun conditions thoroughly before tucking both into the shoulder holster he concealed inside his white jacket.

He reached out for the glove box compartment, took out a long red scarf and wrapped it around his neck and shoulder. Lastly he pulled up his hood.

'Lead the way.'

* * *

'Damn!' Delsin drew back after scorching a few zombie into a pile of ashes. 'What's the deal with them? Where are they coming from? There's seems to be no end!'

'They don't look like those Hybrida infected…' Ren was supporting Sebastian as the older man limps across the woods with Delsin keeping the zombies at bay.

'…my leg...' Sebastian collapsed onto the grass and grasped at his right leg. It had a deep gash and blood had dyed a portion of his brown pants crimson.

Ren crouched down to examine the wound. 'The cut is deep. I need to stop the bleeding,' He looked up to Delsin. 'We have to get him to a safe place.'

'Safe place?' Delsin looked around. 'A place like this doesn't have one.'

Delsin saw Sebastian was in agonized pain and began to worry. _(Come on Delsin! Think! There had to be a place nearby.)_

He looked around and spotted a small shed not far from where they are.

_(Wait a minute…Was there a shed there before? Ah who cares?)_

'Ren this way!' Ren quickly pulled Sebastian up to his feet and dragged him across. They entered and Delsin speedily bolted the door from the inside then pressed his back against the door for further blockade. He panic when he start to hear those creatures pounding and scratching at the entrance.

'I'm not sure how long I can hold them,' Delsin watched as Ren carefully laid Sebastian on the ground.

'How's he doing?'

'His right leg is fractured and suffering from a deep gash," Ren torn a towel which he got from his sling bag into half. 'I'll stop the bleeding. Try to store them momentarily.'

'I'll try...' Delsin sounds bleak.

Ren focused his healing energy onto Sebastian's wound. Sebastian could see the deep gash on his fractured leg closing up slowly. Once the wound closed, Ren wrapped the towel he around it as quickly as possible, tying it in a tight knot. He hauled Sebastian's up to his feet again once done.

'Sorry,' he apologised. "Bear with the rushed treatment for now. Once we're completely out of danger, I will give a proper one.'

'At least you cease the bleeding,' Sebastian was thankful. 'Ren I'm sorry for being a burden.'

'Huh?'

'I mean using your healing ability cause a strain on you…'

'Don't worry about it.'

Soon the hordes were bashing through the wooden walls. Their groping hands reaching out trying to grab their victims. Delsin used his chain whip to burn their rotting hands to keep them away from both Sebastian and Ren. Ren withdrew to a safe spot when a zombie smashed through a glass window, grabs him tightly by the shoulder and tries to pull him out.

'Argh!' Ren yelled. He grabbed his combat knife from the sheath around his belt and stabbed the zombie's hand. It shrieked in pain and loosened its grip that's when Ren take the chance to drew out his handgun and fired at the zombie's head, liquefying the creature as it dissolves to the ground.

Sebastian also helped out by firing his revolver at the hordes; head shot them one by one. Just as Sebastian plans to reload his gun, another one appears and tries to grab at him. This time Delsin picked a brick on the floor and flung it to the zombie. The impact of the brick to its face stunned it, Delsin then seized its face and smashed straight to the shattered glass shard on the window frame.

The zombie made a groan before falling still.

'Quick!' He carried Sebastian in his arms and leaped over the window with Ren following suit. They ran down a sloped downward path into another section of the woods. The death of few zombies had alerted the others and they continued pursuing. Hunting down their preys till their wits end.

With Sebastian tightly held and secured in his arms, Delsin jumped over plus sliding under tree branches with ease. Sebastian looked behind and amazed to see Ren was able to catch up with them. Suddenly Delsin halted in his track and Ren clumsily bumped right straight onto his back. Ren rubbed his nose and pushed his glasses back to its place.

'Why do you stop?' He asked.

'If I don't, we will be heading to heaven next,' Delsin answered back.

Ren stared forth and backed away. 'Whoa…ok.'

They had come to a dead end. They unknowingly ran to a cliff and had nowhere else to retreat. They intended to run back to where they came however it was too late. The horde had caught up and slowly spreading out to surround them.

Delsin tightened his grip on Sebastian as he glared at them. 'What's their problem?'

'Why not you ask them?' Ren points. 'If they can talk...'

'Haunted,' Sebastian mumbled softly.

'Pardon?'

'They are known as Haunted,' Sebastian explained. 'They were once normal humans linked to the STEM but their consciousness got trapped in the world created by that 'person'. His demented mind synchronizing with the victims' mutating them into those grotesque appearances. But they only existed in STEM, why are they here in the real world?'

'Whether they were once human," Delsin exhibited sign of pity. 'We… we still have to wipe them out, right?'

'Wait," Ren stopped him as he gazed towards the Haunted horde. 'What if there's a way to turn them back?'

Sebastian shook his head in despair. 'They are beyond salvation. Death is their only freedom.'

Ren had nothing more to say or ask. They were about to retaliate as two Haunted drew close when a shiny object out of the corner of their eyes caught their awareness that they looked up and saw an eagle shaped shadow swished down and slammed both Haunted's heads to the solid rocky ground.

They swore they heard the sound of skull cracking and blood splatting across the grass. The shadow got up and walked forth, revealing a hooded figure. Sebastian at first was appalled by the hooded figure's sudden appearance, mistaken him for Ruvik but when it turned out to be Ezio instead, he unwind down.

'Ezio!'

'Have the three of you gone crazy?' Ezio yelled at them. 'Why do you run off? Didn't I tell you all we should stick together? I was so worried.'

'We're sorry," Ren replied. "After the crush, you were totally knocked out cold furthermore they got us surrounded. We had no choice but to lure them away.'

Ezio faced the horde, drawing out one of his hidden blade and pistol. 'What are these things? They aren't humans. What happened to you Sebastian?'

'I fell down hard during the chase," Sebastian stared down at his injured fractured leg. "I won't be able to walk for the time being.'

'I will deal with them," Ezio shot a bullet through a zombie's head. Then another behind. "We will find a place to settle once I'm done here.'

'Where's Noctis?' Ren asked.

'He's currently disposing the rest back in the woods. He'll catch up.'

'You left him all by himself?'

'He maybe a child still he's capable of taking care of himself,' Ezio gunned down another three more, he drew out his hidden blade as he proceeds to slay the rest.

* * *

Noctis narrowly dodged from the pickaxe swung at him by a masked zombie. He hoisted his shotgun and blast its head off at point blank. Sensing another going to strike from behind, Noctis used the solid butt stock of the shotgun to ram it under its chin, stunning the zombie momentarily and breaking its jaw. He quickly snatched the sickle from its hand and stabbed right into its head.

The second zombie fell hard onto the ground with the sickle still stuck on its skull. Noctis then pumped the remaining shells onto the remaining horde, gunning them down one by one till no shells left.

Noctis hoisted his shotgun back onto the scabbard strapped on his back and pulled out a machete to confront the next attack wave from another group.

Two more zombies remained; they were slightly larger built and both were armed with iron mallet with dried blood and flesh stained on it. Noctis got into his defensive stance; he waited patiently for either one of them to strike so he could time the perfect chance for counterattack.

He shifted to his left and right cautiously studying the movement pattern of his attackers.

_(Wait for it.)_ Noctis eyed at them, his grip on the machete tightened. The zombie on the left lifted the mallet high up and swung it down at him. Noctis swiftly sidestepped as it rammed hard on the grass just a few inch away.

_(Moron…)_ Noctis taunted at the creature's stupidity. He stepped on the mallet, using it as a lever, Noctis skillfully leapt over the zombie. Landed smoothly on both feet, keeled down and sliced off the zombie's legs with his machete.

With both legs sliced off clean, the zombie fell to the ground face flat. With no sense of pain, unable to get up, all it could do is just wiggle in futile. The next zombie swung its mallet next but Noctis was fast; he dropped his machete, summoned a phantom sword and parried the attack sending the zombie reeling.

Noctis quickly picked his machete up and impaled straight into the zombie's head; brain split and dead on the spot. He approached the last zombie which was still struggling on the floor, raised his boot high and stomped hard onto its face, breaking its skull, jaws as well as the neck.

With all zombies exterminated, Noctis picked up his machete and slide it back into the scabbard. He then carefully scanned around the areas to check if there's any more of those things.

"Coast clear," Noctis mumbled to himself. He was about to re-join the others when his eyes suddenly glowed red. He detected something coming from behind. He whirled around, instinctively summoned his phantom swords and aimed directly at the direction where he senses the unknown presence but there was nothing.

With the phantom swords hovering behind him, the teen cautiously approached the area. The ambience around him seems to change; he felt the temperature drops. He continued to walk forth, his eyes shifting left and right for sudden pounce. He didn't get far when he spotted a figure shrouded by the fog walking away.

'Who's there?' He called out. The figure paused for a second. It looked back towards Noctis's direction then suddenly bolt off to the other direction.

'Hey wait!' Noctis gave chase. It only lasts for a while when Noctis spotted a dead end edge ahead and quickly stopped. He watches in silence as the figure vanishes down the path at the other side.

Noctis scrutinized the area; the aperture between where he is and the figure disappeared to was wide. He looked down over the edge and could see it's a great fall and the sound of rushing water was heard below. He stood up and went to explore the area only to find there weren't any bridge nor routes to get to the other side. So how in the world did that mysterious figure managed to get across? Noctis swore he saw the figure just run across without using any teleporting skills.

Noctis could easily warped himself over however he chooses not to. He didn't want to stray too far from his team besides he was worried for the other four. He left the area in a hurry without looking back.

* * *

'Noctis!' Ren waved at him. The four of them were resting at a big oak tree.

'I'm glad you all were alright,' Noctis was relieved to see them safe and sound. Ezio was resting on a rock, his face and hands were smudged with blood while Delsin handed him a cloth to wipe himself clean.

Ren was tending to Sebastian's leg. Cleaning the wound again and bandaging up in a proper way.

'Ezio?'

'Hey Noct,' Ezio greeted him. 'Sorry about the bloody mess you just saw.'

'Yeah I did,' Noctis glanced back. 'That's a lot you eliminated back there. I hope there isn't any more spawning up again.'

'I think that's the whole lot," Ren knelt down to touch the ground. "I could feel the presence disappearing.'

'You can tell?' Noctis looked down at him.

'Yup. Even zombies had life energies coursing through them," Ren described. 'It seep from their bodies to the ground therefore creating a stream throughout the entire area. Since I'm quite sensitive to it, I often used it to tell if there are life beings nearby."

'Sensitive as in detecting life and death?' Noctis asked.

'In a way," Ren got up.

'Glad to have company,' Noctis shrugged.

'Eh?' Ren stared at him confused.

'Ren.'

'What is it, Sebastian?'

'Back at the car you suddenly tell Ezio to take speed. Did you saw something?' Sebastian asked.

'Yeah I saw a pale slender man with a burnt hand glaring straight at me. It's not the doctor whom we met back at the museum, it was someone else.'

'Anymore to that?' Ezio questioned.

'Nope. Though he wears a hood and had white hair…'

Sebastian's swallowed hard and bit his lower lips. _(Leslie? But his hands weren't burnt…)_

'I wonder if the figure I saw back at the woods moments ago is the same person Ren described,' Noctis added.

'You saw him?' Delsin said.

'I only caught a glimpse of him through the fog. He ran off the moment I called out. I did went after him however he still got away.'

'Where was it?'

Noctis pointed back to the woods where he came from. 'Just east of here. He seems to be heading for sky tram direction from what I see from my pocket map. Believe it or not there was no way for him to get over there since all routes had been obliterated.'

'What do you mean?' Ren looked surprised.

'He was like walking on thin air. I thought of using my teleport ability yet I dared not to stray too far from you guys.'

'Can I see that map of yours Noctis?' Sebastian asked. Noctis handed it over and Sebastian did a quick study.

'I see. We're currently at the Serene Woods. In its vicinity, there was sky tram station meant for tourists' attraction. Sadly the business was bad and they shut it down for good. I heard rumours from my colleagues that the caves not far from the tram station leads to the outskirts of Krimson City. I'm not sure if it's true since I never really looked into it.'

'Well if you say it leads back to your hometown we can give it a try,' Ezio spoke. 'Since the jeep is badly damaged and there's no way I can't drive it back up the steep slope to the main road.'

'It's quite a fall,' Ren sighed. 'I'm just glad we all are still standing on our feet.'

'Except me,' Sebastian gave a gentle reminder.

Noctis was looking around and grumbled, 'Serene woods huh?' He rubbed both his arms as he could feel goose bumps on them. 'I'm getting goose bumps here.'

'We better hurry. It's best we don't linger here,' Ezio suggested. Delsin helped Sebastian up and the five headed towards the sky tram direction.

Just as they vanished down the path, the hooded figure appears with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

'You still didn't realise you actually did, Seb.'

* * *

'Is this where he vanished?' Ezio looked at Noctis.

'Yup,' Noctis nodded. He points to the direction where he last saw the figure. 'That's where he disappeared to and further down is the Sky Tram station which Sebastian mentioned.'

'I went ahead to scout around,' Delsin returned. 'There is indeed no way to get to the other side like Noctis said.'

'The only way over is my teleportation skill,' Noctis smiled.

'You sure you're up to it?' Ezio asked.

Noctis crossed his arms and pouted. 'Of course I'm up to it. Just gather close to me.'

They did what he instructed.

'Ok…hold on tight. I'm going to warp now.'

* * *

'Argh…I feel so sick. The rush feeling of the warp makes my stomach queasy and my body felt like they're splitting apart. Now I feel like throwing up,' Ren was standing down on all fours.

'Well it's your first time,' Noctis patted Ren on his shoulder. 'You'll eventually get used to it.'

Ren covered his mouth with his hands. 'I hoped so…Just give me a sec to recover…'

Ezio glanced up at the abandoned Tram station. He felt disturbed just by staring at the silhouette outline of the area like the place is alive and ready to swallow all the five whole. Though it seems unwelcoming, it's the only way back to Krimson City. Ezio doesn't know if he should just drop the idea, headed back and repaired the jeep instead.

Yet mending the vehicle can take the whole night plus he fretted that Sebastian's leg wound will have infection leading his fever to relapse.

'Come on,' he gestured with his head tilting towards the boarded up entrance.

Ezio with the help of Noctis, ripped down the wooden boards and shone their torchlights into the murk within.

'You know Ezzy?' Noctis turned to him. 'I'm now having second and third thoughts about venturing inside.'

'I'm having the same thoughts as you Noct,' Ezio replied as he climbed in and took a few steps forth. The corridor was eerily silent as dust, filth, spider webs and discarded furniture were scattered about. Ezio could even heard his heavy footsteps echoed clearly with each steps he took.

'Man… do we really have to go in there?' Delsin peeked in. 'This similarity is like the one we had back in the museum. What happened if the entrance vanished on us again?' He gulped. 'I don't want to go through that again,' Delsin plucked at Sebastian's trench coat. 'Is there any alternate route? Anywhere but here?'

Sebastian returned an apologetic look. 'Sorry pal. Alternate route is we head back and repair the jeep like what Ezio said.'

Ezio stopped and stared back at Sebastian. 'I didn't say that out loud.'

'You didn't?'

'Well I did have that thought…' Ezio pointed at his head. 'But it was all in my mind.'

Sebastian tilted his head. 'That's odd. I heard it loud and clear moments ago.'

'Did I really say that out?' Ezio asked Noctis then to the others. The boy shook his head in return. 'Nope all I heard from you was about having second thoughts or so. But none about the jeep thing coming from your mouth.'

'Same here,' Delsin raised his hand up. He climbed in and helped Sebastian carefully over the boards.

'Same here too,' Ren added in. 'You sure you didn't hear wrongly Sebastian?'

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. 'I'm not mistaken. I heard it very crystal clear…' he trailed off. 'In my head.'

All went quiet. Their eyes eyed at the detective.

'Ok…not only you have telepathic and perception powers, you have mind reading abilities. Why am I not surprised?' Ren smiled.

Sebastian sat on the floor rubbing his forehead. 'This is getting out of hand. Why is this happening to me?'

'Guessed all your encounters triggered your gifts to awaken quickly,' Ezio answered. 'Like it's trying to protect you.'

'Well that's a joke to me,' Sebastian disagreed. 'If it's really doing that then I pray it will…' he froze. '….the hell…?'

Ren followed Sebastian's gaze to his bandaged up right leg.

'I didn't treat it well?' He asked.

'No…no,' Sebastian proceeded to undo the bandages. The blood had dried up and he found that his gash wound was completely gone; vanished. Sebastian carefully moved his right leg a little and found the fractured doesn't even hurt at all. He slowly got up to his feet and walked a little. His leg was miraculously as good as new and everyone went stunned.

He glanced at the others then back to his leg, 'It's gone.' He shouted. 'My right leg's completely healed!'

Ren gaped. 'That's unexpected. You were injured thirty minutes ago and now you're fully recovered. My healing ability can't heal broken bones for your information.'

'Welcome to the team,' Delsin smacked Sebastian on the back causing him to stagger a little. He paused. 'Wait doesn't that mean Sebastian can rid of his illness once and for all?'

'I can't say that for sure,' Ezio answered with his arms crossed. 'His illness originated from the source of his psychic gift. Even if his gift heals other means of his injuries or so doesn't mean it can allow him to be free of the illness inflicted on him.'

'Like an equivalent trade to be precise,' Noctis said.

'So I guess about accepting the gift to heal me was confirmed a low chance?' Sebastian asked Ezio.

'Like I said back in the jeep,' Ezio gave a sad look. 'The chances is 50 by 50. I'm sorry. I wished I could help but my abilities is beyond it.'

'Erm…sorry to barge in but what's that sound?' Noctis interrupted. Before all five could react, the debris from the ceiling crumbled down instantly blockading the entrance trapping all of them inside.

'I knew it!' Delsin went pale. 'I knew this will be coming!'

It wasn't long when they heard inhuman noises coming from the other side of the dark corridor.

'Looks like we walked into their welcome party,' Ezio pulled out his dual colts and turned to the others. 'Get ready. We got some zombie killings to do.'

 

End of chapter 14


End file.
